The Tribune

THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Floaters found themselves in familiar territory after defeating The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS) Interceptors in dominating fashion to capture The Bahamas Government Departmental Softball Association’s 2023 men’s championship at the Blue Hill Playing Field over the weekend.

After not fielding a championship team since the 2014 campaign, the team jubilantly uncorked sparkling champagne bottles on the field, with teammates high-fiving and hugging each other. It took longer than anticipated, but the passing of the torch to the younger players has been a tremendous success.

The RBDF team won the best-of-seven series by a final score of 28-5, defeating their law enforcement counterparts in five games. They jumped out to a commanding 23-0 lead before the men from the Correctional Service could score their first run.

Aaron Wood, Martin Conliffe and Perez Burrows all went deep for the Floaters, along with a grand slam by Garfield Bethel. Godwin Taylor was tagged with the loss for BDOCS.

Dwayne Mackey, who during his early career was a vacuum at shortstop, pitched an outstanding game.

He noted that the team was inspired to win it all after dedicating the season to former player Keith “Slimy” Moss, who is currently facing medical challenges.

A perennial slugger on numerous championship teams with the Floaters, Moss’ presence in the dugout during the series proved to be a motivational factor.

“We wanted to win this one for him (Moss), which made this season a special one,” said Mackey, who also serves as the team manager.

“We had nine young players who all came together for one common goal, and our game plan was to put up lots of runs to let Correctional Services know who the better team is.

“I applaud their effort, but we were not about to make this final game a close one, as with the previous games.”

Establishing its supremacy as a dynasty, the RBDF Floaters have now won 30 out of a possible 42 BGDSA championships contested since the league’s inauguration in 1979, which includes a streak of 17 consecutive championships won from 1992 to 2008.

Games were not played in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.