The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AS a prelude of what to expect at the Bahamas Baseball Association’s Nationals in June in Grand Bahama, Freedom Farm got the early bragging rights over the weekend at the Eleuthera Mini 12-and-under Baseball Tournament.

They went into Palmetto Point, Eleuthera, and pulled off the mini tournament with a 14-4 win over the Junior Baseball League of Nassau on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Abaco Youth Association, playing in their first tournament outside of the island, ended up with the bronze medal as they knocked off the host Eleuthera Baseball League 16-10.

Gianno Newball of Freedom Farm was named the most valuable player after he led the tournament with 10 hits, 18 runs batted in (RBI) and knocked in four home runs. 

Among some of the other members of Freedom Farm were Takary ‘Big Dog’ Butler, Diego Hutchinson, Bosfield ‘B3’ Butler, George Ramsaran, Elliot Clarke, Xavier ‘X’ Petit, Andrew Seymour, Reid Ingraham, Dwayne Colebrooke and Daniel Adderley.

Ray Stubbs, who served as the head coach and was assisted by Garvin Newball, said his Freedom Farm baseball team went to Eleuthera and played good fundamental baseball.

“It wasn’t that much competition. Our guys put the bat on the ball, we made good plays and the piutching was good,” he said. “We didn’t have any challenges.

“When Freedom Farm moves, that’s how we move. We expected victory. From our president to the players, we don’t expect anything less.”

He noted that the battery combination of pitcher Gianno Newball and catcher Bosfield Butler provided the spark, but they also got some key performances from TaKaryi Butler. He said they did what they did and now they will prepare for the Nationals.

“Some teams say they didn’t have their full team, ao we will see what happens at the Nationals in June,” he said.

For JBLN, Alantonio Knowles, who was assisted by Anton Newbold, Norman Bastian and Deshaun Woods, said he was extremely proud of his team’s performance, even though they were not at full strength.

“Even though we came in second, they handled themselves extremely well on and off the field,” Knowles said. “Based on the competition, the heart and skills of our players was something that we were particularly pleased with.”

Knowles said while it was their “developmental team” in Eleuthera, it gave JBLN an indication of what they need to do to be ready for the Nationals in June.

“ We took some of the players who may not make the team in June to hone their skills,” he said. “We wanted to get the experience of playing in a national event.

“But at the nationals, you can expect JBLN to put on a much better show. We will have our top notch players as we will go to Grand Bahama to show what we’re made of.”

JBLN’s team consisted of Kealan Cartwriught, Briland Cunningham, Demetrios Cleare, Eugene OPratt, Jaleen Bowleg, Amard Taylor, Dawson Bastian, D’Mari Ferguson, Aryan Shetty and Philip Ferguson.

Pedro Williams, the coach for Abaco, said while it was the first time many of his players traveled to play outside of Abaco, it was a bit hectic for them.

“The games went very well. It was a bit short notice for us to complete the tournament on Saturday, but it worked out very well because we got a chance to go on a tour of Eleuthera on Sunday,” Williams said.

Williams was particularly pleased with his pitcher Zakai Curry, who led their team that also featured Nakai Pritchard, Dadon Mills, Ahmad Bootle Jr and Rivante Armaly.

As they head back to Abaco, Williams says once the high school baseball season is completed, they will reassemble the team to get ready for the Nationals.

“In talking to them, they have told me that they will be back and more prepared to play Freedom Farm again. They blew us out in our game on Saturday, but they say it won’t be the same when they face them again,” Williams said.

“They just have to put in the work and we intend to do that because we want to prove that we have the ability to play against teams like 

Freedom Farm and JBLN and the teams from Grand Bahama, who didn’t participate in the tournament.”

Newly elected BBA president Clarence ‘CJ’ McKenzie, who was on hand to support the Eleuthera Baseball Association in hosting the mini tournament, said it was a great event.

“We had some competition from JBLN and Freedom Farm, who put on a show for the spectators,” McKenzie said. “The competition was stiff, including the bronze medal game between Abaco and Eleuthera.

“Anytime you have Freedom Farm and JBLN matchup against each other, you can expect some fireworks. They played a very competitive game in the final, but Freedom Farm got the better of the two.”

McKenzie commended the organizers in Eleuthera for putting on a splendid event in Palmetto Point where they were able to reconstruct the playing facility there.

The BBA now takes its attention to the Nationals from June 19-22 at the Emera Baseball Stadium in Grand Bahama for the 8U, 10U, 12U and 14U.

The senior nationals for players in the 16U and 20U will take place at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium from June 6-9.