By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
IT was a clean sweep in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ 2017 best-of-three championship series, but the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine only came out of Freedom Farm with three of the four titles.
Yesterday, while the Big Red Machine’s junior boys held off the Nassau Christian Academy Saints 6-3, their junior girls rolled past the Queen’s College Comets 26-17 and their senior boys clobbered NCA 27-13.
But Queen’s College made sure that all four titles didn’t go to Augustine’s College as the senior girls prevailed with a 9-4 decision to ruin the party.
• Here’s a summary
of the games:
Big Red Machine 6,
Crusaders 2
It was a pitching duel on the mound as SAC’s Tyler Munroe got the better of the junior boys’ showdown with Nassau Christian Academy’s mainstay Norman Bastian to complete their sweep.
In the process, SAC retained their title for the third straight year.
“We had two close games, so we had to score as much runs as we could,” said SAC’s head coach DeVaughn Saunders. “It’s always a good feeling to win, but I’m glad for this crew of players whom I’ve been with for the past three years.
“We have about 7-8 players who will be moving up to the senior division, so I was happy for them. But I think if we can put in the work, we will be ready to come back next year and win another title, even though it’s going to be a new team.” Munroe was working on a no-hitter up until the bottom of the fifth inning when Jeremiah Adderley drilled a two-run in-the-park home run to get the Crusaders on the scoreboard. While he gave up two hits in the inning, Munroe finished with seven strike outs.
Bastian was also equal in his effort with strike outs, but he suffered six hits as SAC came up with a run in the first and the third and four more in the fourth as they put the score out of reach for NCA.
Tyler Wallace led the offensive attack for the Big Red Machine by scoring a pair of runs.
SAC won the opener 6-1 on Monday.
Big Red Machine 26,
Saints 17
In what turned out to be a slugfest in the junior girls’ division, St Augustine’s got the best of two explosive innings as they rebounded from a 15-3 deficit to complete their two-game sweep. They rebounded after losing the title last year to regain the crown.
“Our aim and our goal was to come back and take it back and that is what we did, so I’m pretty happy about that,” said SAC’s head coach Vernice Russell. “It’s wonderful, it’s exciting, but the team worked really hard.”
Hard maybe an understatement for the Big Red Machine, but Russell said they certainly worked hard after falling behind by 12 runs.
“The first innings were rough, but like I told the girls, we’re a team with heart, we have a warrior spirit and we played with heart,” she stated. “Even though it might seem as if it’s over now, it wasn’t over. So I just advised them to come out with a fighting spirit, play ball, hit and run like they know how to and we could still take it.”
And even though they lost Burrows in the fifth inning, Russell said they didn’t lose a beat because their bench was deep enough to get a player to come in and replace her.
SAC batted around the clock twice in the third inning as they scored 15 runs to go ahead 18-15. Then they tacked on eight more runs in the fourth to go along with the additional one they added in the fifth to seal the win.
The Big Red Machine rolled out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first and they got another in the second.
Laryre Burrows had a perfect 5-for-5 plate appearance with four singles and a double with a run batted in (RBI), scoring four runs to pace SAC’s offensive attack. But she had to be lifted off the field trying to score her final run in the fifth, but she collided with the Saints’ catcher and injured her right knee.
Rachel Rolle also had an explosive showing as she missed completing the cycle as she went 3-for-4 with a triple, a two run double and a single. She also got on with an error and a base on ball, scoring four times.
Antonicia Moultrie went 3-for-5 with two RBI, scoring three runs, Willow Sturrup had two hits with two RBI and scored three runs, Otavya Fowler walked three times and scored as many runs, Ashlee Delancy was 2-for-5 with three RBI, scoring twice, Joycelyn Criswell had one hit with a RBI and scored three times.
Fowler got the start, but was relieved by Rolle in the first before she came back to complete the game in the second.
Alia Heastie got the start for Kingsway Academy, but she went to the third before Paige Stuart came in to relieve her. Tyler Miller also got in some work in the third, but Heastie came back to finish off the game in the fourth.
Katherine Ventagin had a bases clearing double in the Saints’ explosive 10-run first inning and she ended up with four RBI and two runs scored to pace their offensive attack. Jayann Smith was walked twice, hit by a pitch once and reached safely on an error and scored four runs.
Heastie and Fia Campbell, with two hits and a RBI each, along with K’Lizz Ellis and Deshann Bethel, both with a RBI walk, all scored two runs.
SAC took game one 7-5 on Monday.
Big Red Machine 27,
Crusaders 13
Andreas Seymour picked up the win as he struck out six Nassau Christian Academy batters as SAC completed their senior boys’ sweep. Kenwin Ingraham also struck out six SAC batters in suffering the loss. Ashton Symonette had a grand slam to lead the Big Red Machine’s offensive attack. In game one on Monday, SAC won 15-4.
Comets 9,
Big Red Machine 4
There were no highlights from the game, but the Queen’s College Comets senior girls made sure that their 5-2 triumph on Monday in game one was no fluke as they celebrated their sweep of the only title that didn’t go to the Big Red Machine.
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