The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IT WAS an historic performance and a bold statement for the Team Bahamas Area Team - Freedom Farm Baseball League, as they staked their claim as contenders for the opportunity to represent the region at the 2014 Little League World Series.

Freedom Farm defeated nine-time Caribbean Zone and former Little League world champion Curacao 11-3 yesterday on day three of the Caribbean Little League Regional Tournament at the Emera Caribbean Baseball Park in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

The Farmers boasted another dynamic day at the plate highlighted by Keithron Moss, whose grand slam in the sixth inning put the game out of reach. Moss finished 2-4 with five RBI.

The home team got out to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning when Moss and Ethan each blasted solo shots to take a 5-0 lead.

Daalen Adderley was the winning pitcher after going four innings, while Bain came and pitched in relief in the fifth and Moss closed out the game on the mound in the sixth.

With the win, Freedom Farm moved to 2-0 following a lopsided 34-0 win over the Dominican Republic.

It was a dominant performance both at the plate and at the mound as they surrendered a single hit en route to the shutout.

A total of 10 countries are participating in the event for 11 to 13-year-olds, with a qualification for the 2014 Little World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on the line.

Freedom Farm is in Pool B with Curacao, Aruba and the Dominican Republic.

In addition to Freedom Farm, the Bahamas also fields the Bahamas host team - Grand Bahama Little League. They are grouped in Pool A with Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Grand Bahama Little League has gotten off to an 0-2 start headed into their third game tonight.

In the opener, they were outlasted by the defending Caribbean Zone champion Puerto Rico, 10-0.

Puerto Rico compiled seven hits, five earned runs and two home runs while Grand Bahama managed just a single hit.

In game two, the Bahamas lost a heartbreaker to Bonaire, 13-10, due to some late game heroics from the visitors.

Tied at 10 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Bonaire blasted a three run home run to seal the win and eliminate GBLL from medal contention.

Both teams are slated to play tomorrow as GBLL takes on the Cayman Islands at 4pm, followed by FF against Aruba at 6:30pm.

Puerto Rico’s Sanmaritana Little League won the tournament in 2013 and were defeated in round one of the LLWS.

Curacao has been the dominant team in the region with nine wins in the tournament’s 13 years. They are the only Caribbean team to win the LLWS when Pabao LL defeated Thousand Oaks, California 5-2 to take the coveted title in 2004.

Aruba is the only other team to capture a Caribbean championship.

Prior to 2001 when the region received an automatic berth, Caribbean teams competed for a berth in the LLWS in the Latin American region.