The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE pennant winning Sting Truckers are sitting back and waiting for their opponents for the New Providence Softball Association’s (NPSA) Carl ‘Bang Bang’ Johnson men’s best-of-seven championship series.

Their opponents will be decided 8pm tonight in the Banker’s Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex when the defending champions Arnette’s Sporting Lounge Hitmen take on the BTC Elite Warriors in the fifth and deciding game of their best-of-five playoff series.

The Elite Warriors, managed by Erin Adderley, had taken a 2-0 lead in the series, only to watch as the Hitmen, managed by Darren Stevens, rebounded to take the next two games to force the decider.

The winner will go on to play the Truckers in the best-of-seven championships slated to start on Thursday night. The championships, which also features a showdown in the ladies’ division between the defending champions Sigma Brackets and the pennant winning Sigma Wildcats, will be held in memory of the late Carl Johnson, the manager of the Electro Telecom Lady Hitters, who died during the regular season.

NPSA president Godfrey ‘Gully’ Burnside said despite the fact that they have been hampered by the inclement weather, the post season has been exciting.

“I expected a much better match-up in the Black Scorpions and the Sigma Brackets like it was in the College of the Bahamas and the Sigma Wildcats series,” Burnside said. “But I expect that the championship series between the two Sigma teams will be very exciting.

“As for the men, it will be very interesting to see who will go on to play against the Sting Truckers. I think a lot of people would like to see the Arnette’s Sporting Lounge Hitmen defend their title, but the BTC Elite Warriors have been playing very well. So it should be a very interesting game to see who will advance to the final against the Truckers.”

While the first game in the championship series will begin on Thursday at the Banker’s Field, game two is set for Saturday. The remainder of the series will continue next week.

The winners of both the men and women championship titles will go on to represent the NPSA in the Bahamas Softball Federation’s national round robin and championship series October 23 to November 2.

The honourees this year are David Charles, Dave ‘Billy’ Micklewhite and Nancy Russell. Joining the NPSA are the champion teams from Abaco, Andros, Eleuthera and Grand Bahama.