Weekend Report | The Freeport News | PDF Online Guide

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Home National Sports Business Lifestyles Religion Arts & Culture Pulse Spice Editorial letters Opinion Foodie Sportscope Real Talks Weekend Report PDF's Classifieds Contact About Us Archive Weather

BBF names team For regional tourney By DAHALIA SMITH ~ NG Sports Reporter ~ dahalia@nasguard.com: On the heels of what many termed a successful 7th Annual Andre Rodgers Baseball Championships, the Bahamas Baseball Federation (BBF) released the names of its 15-16 team expected to attend the 2009 Latin American/Caribbean Zone Tournament in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, from July 15-16. Other countries sending teams include Panama, the Dominican Republic, St. Marteen and Aruba. The boys who will be representing The Bahamas include: Alvin Rolle (pitcher, utility player), Jeffrey Woodside (pitcher, outfielder), D'andre Rigby (pitcher outfielder), Marcus Holbert, (pitcher, first baseman), Byron Ferguson (pitcher, outfielder), David Sweeting (pitcher, outfielder), Ashton Allen (pitcher, outfielder), Champ Stuart (pitcher, outfielder), Crachad Laing (pitcher, catcher, first baseman), Cameron Richardson (catcher), Theodore Sweeting Jr. (catcher, third baseman), Ramon Grant (outfielder), Marvin McQueen (third baseman, utility player), Chad Burrows (third and first baseman), Alex Tapia (outfielder) and Andre Turnquest (outfielder). The team manager is Patrick Knowles and the coaches are Anton Rolle and Marcian Curry. The players were selected from the Bimini Baseball League, New Providence based leagues Freedom Farm and the Junior Baseball League of Nassau, and Grand Bahamian leagues Legacy and the Grand Bahama Amateur Baseball League. Furthermore the selection of players to the final team were based on their recent performances at the BBF Championships and other events. For instance, out of the 16 chosen only two of them have local baseball exposure alone. The remaining 14 players also have international exposure. Returning players to the team include Sweeting Jr., Stuart, Laing, Rigby, Ferguson and Allen to lead the team. Knowles expects a higher overall placement this time around. "This year should be a good one. There were some guys who had international exposure while on the 14 age group team who have graduated to this age group. Also, we had some great guys who were not available last year who will be this year," explained Knowles. There is an abundance of pitchers, nine in all, considered a welcomed advantage by Knowles. "This team is deep in terms of pitching. We have many openers who can lead off well depending on who our opponents are. We will lean on Theodore and a few others as good closers," Knowles added. This is the third year that a team from the BBF will be participating at this event. In 2005 and 2006, the team returned with fifth place finishes out of six teams. In 2007, the Pony League team attended the Pony World Series and placed sixth out of 10 teams and last year at the Caribbean Zone Tourney, team Bahamas ended up third out of four teams. Other BBF teams slated to see action this summer are the senior men's team which is headed to the 2009 World Baseball Challenge, from July 16-26 in Prince George, British Colombia, Canada and the 16-18 team, set to participate at the 2009 Latin American Big League Baseball Tournament, from June 19-28 in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela. Other countries expected to compete in the Latin American Big League Baseball Tournament include Aruba, Colombia, Curacao, Guatemala, Panama, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands and host country Venezuela. TEAM BAHAMAS Alvin Rolle (pitcher, utility player) Jeffrey Woodside (pitcher, outfielder) D'andre Rigby (pitcher outfielder) Marcus Holbert, (pitcher, first baseman) Byron Ferguson (pitcher, outfielder) David Sweeting (pitcher, outfielder) Ashton Allen (pitcher, outfielder) Champ Stuart (pitcher, outfielder) Crachad Laing (pitcher, catcher, first baseman) Cameron Richardson (catcher) Theodore Sweeting Jr. (catcher, third baseman) Ramon Grant (outfielder) Marvin McQueen (third baseman, utility player) Chad Burrows (third and first baseman) Alex Tapia (outfielder) Andre Turnquest (outfielder) Team Manager Patrick Knowles Coaches Anton Rolle Marcian Curry