The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Charles W Saunders Cougars, coming off their Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ championship run, added the Bahamas Softball Federation’s national senior girls championship crown to their collection.

On Saturday night in the Banker’s Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex, the Cougars pulled off the annual Austin ‘King Snake’ Knowles title with a resounding 17-7 win over the Queen’s College Comets.

Solana Brown had a perfect 4-for-4 night with four runs batted in (RBI) and scored three times, while Mia Turner was 2-for-3 with two RBI and four runs scored and Brianna Knowles and Crystal Symonette were both 1-for-2 with two runs scored.

Charles W. Saunders opened a 5-2 lead after the first inning and came up with a pair of five runs in the fourth and fifth to seal the deal.

“We have a lot of faith in these girls,” said Brad Wood Jr, who along with his father, Brad Sr, coached the Cougars’ team. “They are young, they are strong and they are determined. So we didn’t underestimate them.”

Wood Jr said it’s a great feeling for their school because they won the title for the first time on the biggest stage they could play on, so he’s elated by their awesome performance.

“Once again, I’m speechless. I never expected them to play so well on such a grand stage,” he said.

The biggest performer of all was Mia Turner, who was named the girls’ most valuable player of the tournament. She went 4-for-10 with a double, triple and two home runs for a .400 batting average, scoring eight runs.

And Turner also showed her versatility as she finished with a 3-1 win-loss record with two shutouts, pitching 10 ten innings in total and striking out 25 batters.

“It was a good win. We could not have done it without our seniors,” Turner said. “But I feel awesome in winning the MVP. I tried not to make it so hard to play it. I just did what I had to do and everything fell in place.”

Queen’s College, who came up with two runs in the first, one in the third and four in the fifth, got a 2-for-2 day with two RBI and two runs in a losing effort.

“I think the girls performed well. It was a tough game. We made a few errors and it cost us the game,” said Comets’ coach Sandre Hobbs. “But it’s a fairly young team so I know that we have a lot of potential. We will be back next year.”

Spanish Wells clinch bronze

The Cougars prevailed with a 8-3 win over the Spanish Wells Bulldogs to advance to the final. Spanish Wells had to settle for the bronze medal.

Mia Turner went 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs and Kenisha Kelly was also 2-for-2 with a RBI and a run scored.

Turner was the winning pitcher. Allie Pinder was the loser. Pinder and Sharlyn Sands were both 1-for-1 with a run scored.

Round Robin Play

CW Saunders 12, Government High: Solana Brown went 2-for-3 with five RBI and a run scored, while Kenisha Kelly was 1-for-2 with two RBi and a run scored in the win for the Cougars.

Mia Turner was the winning pitcher and Carlean McKinney suffered the loss.

Spanish Wells 8, Anatol Rodgers 0: Sharlyn Sands was 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored in the win for the Eleuthera girls.

Charles W Saunders 8, NGM 0: Solana Brown had a perfect 3-for-3 day with two runs in the win for the Cougars’ girls.

Mia Turner was the winning pitcher and Chrysanthea Fox was the loser.

Samuel Gray Pinder 4, NGM 3: Allie Pinder was 1-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored to pace the Spanish Wells boys.

Pinder was the winning pitcher and Chrysanthea was the loser.

Charles W Saunders 18, Anatol Rodgers 1: Mia Turner was 2-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored in the win for the Cougars’ girls. Brianna Knowles and Megan Grant both were 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Grant was the winning pitcher and Trenai LaFrance was the loser.

NGM 8, Anatol Rodgers 5: Chrysanthea Fox and Ashlee Major both were 2-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored in the win for the Long Island girls.

Fox was the winning pitcher and Tenae LaFrance was the loser.

Charles W. Saunders 7, Spanish Wells 0: Mia Turner was 2-fo-2 with a RBI and two runs scored in the win for the Cougars’ girls.

Turner also got the win on the mound and Madison McGee got the loss.

Queen’s College 10, Anatol Rodgers 6: Brigitte Cumberbatch went 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored in the Comets’ girls win.

Ramona Hanna was the winning pitcher.

NMG 5, Queen’s College 3: Chrysanthea and Leanna Fox, as well as Eldria Garland all had one hit and scored a run in the win for the Long Island girls.

Chrysanthea Fox was the winning pitcher and Ramona Hanna was the loser. Kimona Wilson was 2-for-2 with a RBI and a run scored in the loss.

Queen’s College 8, Charles W. Saunders 3: Ramona Hanna was 2-for-2 with a RBI and a run scored and Kimona Wilson was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

Hanna was the winning pitcher and Mia Turner got the loss.

Queen’s College 17, NGM 4: In the most explosive game played, the Comets’ girls batted around the clock twice, scoring all27 runs before they finally got out in the first inning.

Brigette Cumberbatch and Indira Sweeting were both 1-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored and Patricia Symonette was 1-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored.

Sweeting was the winning pitcher and Madison McGee got the loss.