The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

For the second game in the series, Courtney Smith got a timely hit - this time a two-run home run - to help propel the pennant winning CS Hitmen to a 4-0 whitewashing of the defending champions Commando Security Truckers.

In game four of their New Providence Softball Association men's best-of-seven championship series on Saturday night, with two out in the top of the seventh, Smith drilled his first pitch from Truckers' losing pitcher Thomas Davis over the left field fence at the Banker's Field in the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. "It was very important to just hit the ball," said Smith of his performance that secured him the most valuable player of the game honours.

"It's going to be a low scoring game, so when we get our hits, we have to take them. When I went to hit, I was looking for a fastball and as it happened, he threw it right down the middle and I just drilled it."

Batting sixth in the line-up as the right fielder, Smith's shot that picked up left fielder Martin Burrows Jr from second on a walk and stole base, enabled the Hitmen to extend their lead to 3-0.

Having scored their first run in the third, CS added their final run in the seventh as Alcott Forbes held the Truckers' batters in check, giving up just one hit with 12, including the game ending three strikes on third baseman D'Juan Seymour.

"My pitcher showed some guts. Right now he's about 60 per cent," said Hitmen manager Darren Stevens of Forbes, who is still recuperating from a hamstring injury he sustained in game one.

"But he's gutting it out. And we've finally gotten a clutch hit from Courtney with two out and a runner in scoring position. These timely hits have been hard to come back for us, but we will come through."

The Hitmen's performances gives them a commanding 3-1 lead as they move into the driver's seat of the series heading into gave five on Tuesday night.

Now Stevens is more confident than ever that they have the ability to avenge their loss to the Truckers, who came back from a 2-0 deficit to pull off the back-door sweep to secure the title last year.

"They were gritted last year. Unfortunately, they came back and beat us," Stevens said of the Truckers.

"Hopefully we learn from last year and keep the intensity up and come out and end it on Tuesday."

Commando Security's manager Olando McPhee, however, said don't push the panic button just yet. He is convinced that they are not done yet. They just have to perform better than they did on Saturday night.

"I think just about every gamed we played, we had it in our hats, but we just kept giving it away with the little mistakes and errors," he aid. "We gave it to them.

"For the next game, we just have to put more bats on the ball. Just about every inning, we had runners on base, in most cases with one out, but we just couldn't drive them in."

Except for the seventh when Forbes retired the side in order, the Truckers had at least an opportunity in the previous seven innings to score, but they left at least one runner stranded on base in the first, second, third and sixth.

As a matter of fact, they had two in the fourth with left fielder Angelo Watson left on third after he led off with a walk and stole second and advanced to third on a ground out by second baseman Steven Russell.

Davis, hoping to make up for his strike out in the second inning, was intentionally walked by Forbes, who opted to pitch to shortstop Gee Bethel, forcing him to ground out to end the threat.

The Truckers also blew another golden opportunity in the sixth when catcher Garfield Bethel reached all the way to second on an error. He advanced to third on a ground out by left fielder Angelo Watson.

But like he did in the other innings, Forbes stopped Commando Security from scoring by striking out first baseman DeAndre Rigby and forcing second baseman Steven Russell to ground out.

On the flip side of the coin, shortstop Philip Johnson produced the first run for the Hitmen when he drew a walk from Davis, moved up to third on a double from catcher Jordan Gibson and came home on a wild pitch.

Gibson, however, was left stranded on third on the wild pitch as Davis got centre fielder Rodney Forbes to pop up and he struck out shortstop Dino Sweeting before second baseman Richard Bain grounded out.

After Sweeting's monster blast in the sixth, CS added their final run in the seventh as Bain came through with a two-out single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, got to third on a passed ball and scooted home on another wild pitch from Davis.

Forbes got the better part of the pitching duel with a one-hit, 11 strike out performance for the win. Davis was tagged with the loss on three hits with 10 strike outs.

Game five is set for 8:30 pm on Tuesday.