The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Baseball Association (BBA) in collaboration with the Caribbean Baseball Confederation (COCABE) will host the under-15 (U15) Caribbean Baseball Cup starting today at the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium.

The baseball action will run from December 4-9 at the venue. Five teams are scheduled to compete - Cuba, the US Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten, Dominican Republic and the host country - Bahamas.

The tournament opener will feature USVI versus the Dominican Republic at 2pm. The matchup will be followed by an opening ceremony at 6:30pm and the host country will take on Sint Maarten at 7:30pm.

Theodore “Teddy” Sweeting, secretary general for the BBA, said preparations leading up to the tournament went well despite some minor hiccups along the way.

“I think the tournament has been shaping up very well in respect to the organisation and coming together. We have had some glitches with teams trying to get out of their country which is the Dominican Republic right now because they lost their reservations, but everybody else will be here and will be ready to kick off starting tomorrow [today],” Sweeting said.

The Bahamas’ U15 baseball squad includes Jordan Archer, Malique Israel, Chrishad Thompson, Khayle Watkins, Elvis Pardo, Javan Smith, Cotton Cubbage, Kaizen Dorsett, Nathan Fernander, Ajay Knowles, Mirko Gervasini, Marlon Botswick, Mario Dean, Liam Eneas, Kamdynn Miller, Malik Williams, Kaylin Ferguson and Amari Knowles.

Prior to the U15 Caribbean Baseball Cup, players in the same age group placed seventh at the World Baseball/Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) 15U Pan American Championship in March this year in the Dominican Republic.

The team ended their first time at the world qualifier event with a 2-3 win/loss record that included victories against Argentina and Panama. With that being said, Sweeting is expecting this group of baseball players to have even more success on home soil at the U15 Caribbean Baseball Cup.

“This is our strongest age bracket so our expectation for this team is extremely high in respect of looking at going to play for the gold medal in this competition. About 80 per cent of the young men on this team competed in March where they competed against twelve countries in bracket A. It is a very strong team, they defeated powerhouses Panama and Argentina at that tournament so I think they are ready for competition. I also think manager Albert Cartwright has very high expectations and from organising, from the BBA we are looking forward to some very good results,” he said.

Each team competing at the six-day tourney will have the opportunity to compete for points necessary to climb the WBSC rankings. The host team is currently ranked at no.47 in the Americas.

Sweeting encouraged Bahamians to come out and support the local athletes in their quest to medal this week.

“We are looking forward to very good fan support each night that The Bahamas plays against the four other countries. We are asking that Bahamians come out and give these young men their utmost support. The family members, friends, and various leagues they participate for and play with please come out and cheer these guys on to victory. I have a very good and deep feeling that they are going to make this country very proud and we are looking forward to some very good results,” he said.

Team Bahamas will play in the featured game at 7:30pm on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They will begin competition against Sint Maarten followed by the Dominican Republic, USVI and Cuba.

The bronze medal and championship games will take  place on Dec 9 starting at 2pm.

Tickets range from $10 to $35 and can be purchased at the venue’s box office.