The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BIRTHDAY boy Albert Cartwright and Geron Sands were quite pleased with the way their I-Elite Bahamas-plus team played at the fifth annual World Comes to the Palm Beaches International Baseball Tournament.

I-Elite Bahamas-plus, coached by Cartwright and Sands, captured the 18-under title on Saturday at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, which is considered the best baseball facility on planet earth.

The team, consisting of seven Bahamians and the rest from the United States, Venezuela and Mexico, won the title in an 8-2 win over Jamaica to finish the international tournament with a 4-0 record. They advanced to the championships earlier in the day with 7-1 win.

Sebastian Walcott, Sheriff Neymour and Toby Simmons all had a pair of hits in leading the I-Elite team offensively. Andru Arthur and Chad Delancy were the defensive sparks behind 15-year-old pitcher Janero Miller - a six-foot, 3-inch 185-pounder - as well as Anthony McKenzie.

Cartwright, who celebrated his birthday with the team over the weekend, said it was a big accomplishment for the players to earn the rights to participate in a championship game at the international level.

“It’s so hard to win because you need the guys to be locked in every game because if you lose a game, you could be out,” he said. “But they came each day and they fought hard.

“A few games they didn’t like how it was going for us, but they fought through it and put up runs and we won.”

Since May, Cartwright said they were working with the players in I-Elite to get to this point and all the hard work paid off with them securing their championship rings.

Sands said with a little more love and appreciation for their players, the Bahamas is looking forward to a bright future in the sport.

“The guys that are there have been working their butts off for the past 12 months playing in the United States against tough competition internationally and domestically,” Sands said. “These are some of the guys who you will be seeing at the next level professionally throughout the year or next year.”

Sands said once they can continue to develop the players in the proper environment, not just with the new Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium, which is not completed, but also the use of a proper weight room facility.

The tournament, which also saw Bahamian Martin ‘Pork’ Burrows officiate, featured a 12-and-under, 15-and-under and open division, but the Bahamas was only represented in the 18-and-under by I-Elite Bahamas.