The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

TEAM Bahamas survived their closest game of the tournament thus far as they closed out group stage play at the Pan American Championships.

The Bahamas scored a 2-1 win over Panama yesterday at the Centro Olimpico Juan Pablo Duarte Stadium.

Sherman Ferguson hit a solo home run to lead the effort at the plate and Alcott Forbes got the win for Team Bahamas on the mound.

The Bahamas concluded play in Pool B with a 3-4 win-loss record.

The Bahamas was unable to advance to the playoff rounds but was still able to qualify for the 2019 Pan American Games and Central American and Caribbean Games by virtue of being one of the top English-speaking Caribbean countries in the tournament.

Pool B includes Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica and Panama. Pool A includes Venezuela, USA, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Aruba, Brazil, Colombia and Puerto Rico.

The tournament wraps up on Sunday. It serves as the qualifier for the XVIII Pan American Games or the 18th Pan American Games.

The event is scheduled for July 26 to August 11, 2019 in Lima, Peru.

The Softball Pan American Championships also serves as the qualifier for teams going to the Olympic Games, World Championships and the Multi-Sports Games.

The Bahamas lost a 2-1 decision to Guatemala in the tournament opener. Desmond Russell hit a solo home run in the fifth inning for the team’s only run as Forbes suffered the loss.

In game two, the team bounced back to shut out Costa Rica 7-0 in their first double header. In game three, the Bahamas lost 8-1 to Canada but again bounced back to thrash Belize 8-0 in the second half of the double header. The team dropped a pair of pivotal losses, an 8-3 decision to Mexico in their opener and then lost 15-2 to Argentina in their second game of another double header.