With a men's softball tournament going on in Abaco and the Bahamas Baseball Federation's (BBF) Championships being contested in Freeport, just women's teams saw action in the New Providence Softball Association (NPSA) this past weekend; it turned out to be laugher in both contests.
In a championship rematch, the defending champions, Sigma Brackettes, easily stopped the Proper Care Pool Sharks via the 10-run mercy rule in four innings; the Sigma Wildcats did the same to the Electro Telecom Lady Hitmen.
Brackettes 15, Sharks 5
The Brackettes are on a mission to win their second straight NPSA title. They got good production from the bottom of their line-up on Saturday night, and veteran pitcher Ernestine "Big Horse" Stubbs was solid from the mound to lead them to a resounding 15-5 win over the young Sharks.
Batting eighth, Sheena Taylor finished a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. She connected for two doubles off losing pitcher Rochea Morley. Theota Williams entered the game as a reserve, and had a RBI double in two at-bats. Kenise Symonette finished 1-for-2 with a RBI and two runs scored. Third baseman Amarige Taylor also finished 1-for-2 and drove in a run.
Stubbs scattered five hits and recorded the win.
Losing pitcher Morley had a hit, Brittney Rahming was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, and Elizabeth Sawyer finished 1-for-2. Lead-off batter Lashawn Wiley had a hit in three at-bats and scored two runs.
The defending champions Brackettes improved to 3-2 in the standings while the Sharks dropped to 1-6, a year after making the NPSA finals. They decided to rebuild the team this year, going with much younger players while a lot of veterans left for other teams.
Wildcats 17, Lady Hitmen 0
The Wildcats are back, and they are back with a vengeance!
The former perennial champions of the league improved to a 6-0 win/loss record this year, as they blanked the Electro Telecom Lady Hitmen while putting up 17 runs on Saturday night at the Bankers Field, Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.
Mary "Cruise" Edgecombe fired a three-hitter in leading the Wildcats to the impressive win.
Offensively, the Wildcats got a huge night from Jeannette Hilton. She finished 2-for-3 at the plate with five RBIs and four runs scored. Sharnell Symonette got on base twice with bunt singles, and Donnette Edwards had a huge two-run single.
Latasa Armbrister, Randell Cooper and Kara Collie shared the three hits for the Lady Hitmen. Thela Johnson gave up eight hits in the loss.
"This is the first night that we really got all of our players out, so everyone came out here with a win in mind," said Hilton on Saturday night. Hilton had a bases-clearing triple in an eight-run second inning, and a two-run double in a five-run fourth inning.
"Everyone was on point tonight, and we came out on top," she said. "The first couple games my bat was really off, so I feel good that it is coming around now. I feel very good with the way that I'm swinging the bat right now. I think we're going all the way this year - NPSA Championship as well as round-robin. We have a good enough team to go all the way through."
The Lady Hitmen couldn't get anything going offensively. They fell behind 10-0 after just two innings, and then committed five errors in the final two frames, leading to seven more runs from the Wildcats.
"I'm a little disappointed with how things went tonight, but we'll go back to the drawing board and see if we can get it together for our next game," said Lady Hitmen Head Coach Carl Johnson. "Every game is crucial for us. I'm confident that we could get it together. The pitching and the batting is starting to come around, and God on our side, we'll have the strength to pull though. We'll be alright," he assured.
During the early part of the 2000s, the Wildcats won seven straight NPSA titles and none of 10, but haven't won in the past three years. They are off to a perfect start this year, remaining undefeated through six games. The Lady Hitmen, on the other hand, dropped to 1-5 with that loss on Saturday night.

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