The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Queen’s College Comets and Windsor Academy Wolves have taken the early leads in their respective Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) best-of-three baseball championship series.

On Monday night at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium, the Comets cruised past St Augustine’s College’s Big Red Machine 10-8 in the senior boys’ division, while the Wolves defeated the Comets 16-8 in the junior boys’ division.

Game two in both series will be played on Wednesday, starting at 4pm with the junior boys, followed by the senior boys. If necessary, a third and deciding game will be played on Monday.

Senior boys

Comets 10, Big Red Machine 8: Pennant-winning Queen’s College pulled off a hard-fought victory over St Augustine’s College to take game one of the series.

SAC broke the ice in the top of the second inning when Jude Taylor scored on an unearned run.

But the Comets responded with two outs in the bottom of the frame, as pinch-runner Trayvene Forbes came home on a wild pitch, followed by two more runs on a passed ball. They eventually put five runs on the scoreboard.

Despite an injury to one of their batters, the Big Red Machine managed to load the bases with no outs. They scored twice on a freak play at third base, added another run on a wild pitch and got an RBI single from Jude Taylor to tie the score at 5-5.

The tie prompted a pitching change, with one of the Cartwright twins, Austin and Blake, replacing the other on the mound for the Comets.

The move paid off as the Comets turned an inning-ending double play.

With the bases loaded in the third, Queen’s College scored twice on a throwing error at home plate and added another two unearned runs to take a 9-5 lead.

They extended their advantage to 10-5 with a run in the fourth.

But SAC mounted a comeback in the fifth, with an RBI single from Keron Laing, who later scored another run following an outfield error, reducing the deficit to 10-7.

In the seventh, Sherman Ferguson Jr ripped a shot to right field for a leadoff, solo inside-the-park home run to cut the deficit to 10-8. However, relief pitcher Marco McQueen retired the side to end the game.

Junior boys

Wolves 16, Comets 8: Second-ranked Windsor Academy, still buoyed by their dramatic come-from-behind victory over SAC in the playoffs, stunned pennant-winning Queen’s College to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

The Comets initially looked comfortable, responding to a two-run deficit by exploding for six runs in the third inning to take control of the game.

“I never doubted my boys. I know my boys. They know how to fight from behind,” said Wolves head coach Norman Bastian. “My boys came back from another deficit in the playoffs against SAC, so I knew we could do it.”

Windsor opened the game by scoring two runs in the top of the first inning.

However, Queen’s College cut the deficit in half with a run in the bottom of the inning.

Windsor maintained its advantage with two more runs in the third to go ahead 4-1.

But the Comets responded with six runs in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a pitching change to surge ahead 7-4.

The Wolves trimmed the deficit to two, 7-5, with a run in the fourth.

After loading the bases with no outs in the fifth, Windsor got a two-run double from Gianno Newball to tie the score at 7-7. Alexander McPhee followed with a two-run single to put the Wolves ahead 9-7.

Gearld Gabriel then went the opposite way to left field to drive in another run.

With no outs, the Wolves loaded the bases again but managed just one more run from the rally, leaving two runners stranded.

It did not matter, as the Comets managed just one run in the bottom of the inning.

Windsor Academy loaded the bases again in the sixth and sent five more runs across home plate to extend its lead to 16-8.

Gabriel emerged as the winning pitcher, striking out the final batter in the bottom of the sixth to end the game, while Mason McKinney took the loss.

Queen’s College head coach Adam Waterhouse said he was disappointed with the lack of energy shown by his Comets but remained confident they would bounce back, with at least one more game scheduled in the series.

“We have to do more offensively,” Waterhouse said. “We can play better. We just have to go out there and do it.”

Bastian, meanwhile, said that having taken the early momentum, his team’s objective was to maintain it and complete the job on Wednesday.