The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Softball Federation’s 2016 BTC National Round Robin Championships turned out to be one of the most competitive in quite some time.

Over the weekend in the Banker’s Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex, the Johnson’s Lady Truckers kept the ladies’ title in New Providence as they stopped the Grand Bahama Folley’s Girls 18-6 in four innings via the mercy rule.

And on the men’s side, the Bluewater Jets finally took a title back to James Cistern, Eleuthera, once known as the capital of softball after a six-year drought.

“We had a very exciting series,” said BSF president Ted Miller. “It was splendid. It was a good tournament. But most of it, it was unexpected. In the minds of a lot of people, it was expected that the Hitmen, with their young team, would have won the championship or at least played for it.

“As it turned out, they were not in it, so that was a real surprise. Not only that, we were also surprised that in the men’s championships, the Jets went on to shut out Abaco (Bulldogs) in the championship game.”

While the men’s division went on a merry-go-round with all four teams winning at least one game over one of their rivals, the Lady Truckers dominated their opponent as they went through the three-day competition undefeated. “The outcome was what was expected,” Miller said.

Lady Truckers’ manager Darren Bowleg couldn’t agree more.

“I think we have a great cast of girls, a great group of talent,” he said. “We only had a few things to work out, but once we ironed them out, we had smooth sailing straight through.”

They also had a workhorse in Marvell Miller, who pitched all of the postseason games to help the Lady Truckers win the New Providence Softball Association title before she did an encore at the national over the weekend.

“I told her personally that it was a pleasure coaching someone of her caliber,” Bowleg said. “You don’t always get to coach girls, who are complete pitchers, so coaching her was a privilege and I hope in the future we can do it again.”

For Miller, in not only carried her load on the defensive end on the mound, but made her contribution to the offensive attack as well, said the pleasure was all hers.

“This one was awesome. I really wanted this one,” she said. “I went to the championship before with the Wildcats, but this one was mine. I really wanted it and thank God I got it.”

However, Miller refused to take all of the credit. She acknowledged her teammates, led by most valuable player (MVP) third sacker Shavette Taylor, who was the offensive spark for the team.

“They’re the best in the world,” Miller quipped. “It’s just an overwhelming experience to play wit them. I couldn’t do it without them.”

Khatrel Dorsett, the starting lead fielder and lead of batter, said they battled all season long and turned it up a notch when they needed to in the championship game.

“That’s a saying that say that the race is not for the swiftest, but to the one that endureth to the end. We fought right to the end and came out as the champions.”

As one of the youngest member of the team, Dorsett said they helped her to grow tremendously and now she can share in the celebrations for the new national champions.

“I feel good, knowing that I am no longer playing, but I now have a chance to coach them and I think they have done a tremendous job,” said coach Ernestine Butler-Stubbs.

From one pitcher to another, Butler-Stubbs said Miller pitched tremendously all year.

“She knew what she had to do and she did her best,” Butler-Stubbs stressed. “It all worked out for us, even though she had a backup for her. But she was prepared to go all the way and she did.”

Not having a chance to celebrate since 2010, the Jets finally proved that Eleuthera is still the island to watch for softball in the country,” according to ace pitcher Adney ‘the Heat’ Johnson, who was named the men’s MVP.

“I wasn’t excepting to shut them out, but after we beat Nassau the night before, I know we were going to beat them,” Bethel stressed. “After I saw Lyle (Sawyer) pitched last night against Nassau, I know we were going to run him.”

His brother, veteran Edmund ‘Binks’ Bethel brought a lot of intensity to the Jet’s line-up, filling in to pitch in one of the games as well as starting at first base in the championship game.

“This one feel good. This one feels great. Thanks to God, Eleuthera is still the softball capital and Binks, the unsung hero, is still making an impact.”

Binks Bethel, who expressed his disappointment that the Bahamas Government has refused to acknowledge him in the Hall of Fame for his efforts on the national team, said there was nothing they could do with his brother, Adney.

“He came here and he proved that he is the best,” he said.

Now that the round robin is completed and the best of the best have emerged, the focus for the federation has been switched to the men’s national team, managed by Perry Seymour, as they prepares to travel next year.

“They’ve been working out for a while, but when the qualifying tournament was announced, we thought that it would be early than 2017,” Miller said. “It’s pushed all the way back to October 2017.

“So what we are in the process of doing right now, our third vice president Hazel McDonald has been asked to look t finding a tournament that our men can travel too so they can get a in a warm up tournament for the qualifying tournament in the Dominican Republic in 2017.”