The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas under-15 national baseball team cracked open the U15 Caribbean Baseball Cup blanking Sint Maarten 33-0 last night at the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium.

In the earlier game, Cuba handled business against the US Virgin Islands 12-0 in five innings on opening day.

A strong seven-run first inning was all the home team needed to obliterate Sint Maarten in five innings last night.

Team manager Albert Cartwright Jr said that a dominant win usually gives the team momentum going into the next matchup.

“A win like this brings all the guys together. A win like this gives us momentum for the next day. We are gonna enjoy tonight and come back tomorrow and do the same thing,” he said.

The Bahamas is now set to face the Dominican Republic on Friday at 7pm.

The Dominican Republic will be a tough opponent as they are ranked no. 11 on the WBSC Rankings.

According to Cartwright, sticking to the fundamentals will help the home team to build on opening day’s success.

“The most important thing is just being fundamental. We ran the bases well so we gotta keep doing that but once we throw strikes and we play defence we will be good,” he said

Colton Cubbage, who hails from Grand Bahama, emerged as the winning pitcher for The Bahamas.

He said it was important for him to deliver a strong performance on the mound to help the team seal the win.

“I just wanted to come out with the win and get some good momentum going for us. The goal is to not get lazy, we are gonna keep performing and do what we just did to every team,” he said.

In the first game of opening day, Cuba blanked the USVI 12-0 to pick up their first tournament win.

Christian Aguilera Garcia, Jose Muniz and Aldama Gonzalez all finished the game with two runs.

Yoan Acosta had two 2RBIs and scored one run.

The U15 Caribbean Baseball Cup continues today with the USVI and Sint Maarten both looking to rebound from losses against each other at 2pm.

Cuba is set to take on the Dominican Republic in the featured matchup at 7pm.