They came, they saw, they conquered! Spanish Wells All Age School came to the capital over the weekend and took both the boys and girls national softball titles over their New Providence counterparts, Saturday night, at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.
The girls got a game-winning hit from Courtney Newbold to rally past the C.V. Bethel Stingrays, 13-12, and the boys held off a late comeback attempt by the NCA Crusades to prevail, 7-5.
The Bulldogs proved that softball is alive and well in Spanish Wells. In the girls' game, Kerigan Pinder was the winning pitcher, and her brother Kayston Pinder, who is already considered by many to be the best high school pitcher in the country, fired a five-hit gem for the win in the boys' game.
Central Eleuthera took the bronze in the girls division of the Austin 'King Snake' Knowles National Softball Tournament, and the North Andros High Seminoles won the third place game in the boys division.
Birthday boy Kayston Pinder credited his teammates for their play behind him, in the boys championship game Saturday night.
"Everyone played good behind me and that helped a lot," he said Saturday night. "I know the type of team that we have so it didn't come as a surprise that we were able to pull it off. We expected to perform well and we did," he added.
Pinder yielded three of the five hits in the final inning but was able to get the key outs when he needed them, including a strike out of Tarnique Williamson to end the game.
"I got a little shook up in that last inning and they started to hit me but we pulled through, and that's all that matters. It's our first Austin Knowles championship so I'm very happy with that," he said.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-1 lead after three innings Saturday night only to see the Crusaders come storming back. They scored three times in the top of the seventh inning, and had the tying run on deck but watched as their rally was killed as Barry Stuart was thrown out trying to stretch a two-run single to a double, and Williamson struck out to end the game.
Lead-off batter Dario Adderley finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs for the Bulldogs, and Kirby Albury and Kendrick Pinder had a hit in three at-bats with a RBI each. Ahmad Smith and David Nathan both finished 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Crusaders.
In the girls' game, the Bulldogs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to beat the Stingrays, 13-12. Breanna Newbold scored four times for them, and Paige Sands, Sierra Pinder and Cheyenne Roberts each crossed home plate twice. Deandra Hart scored three times for the Stingrays, and Shavonja Adderley and Shaquille Bain both crossed home plate twice.
"They played good tonight but they still made a lot of mistakes, and that happens sometimes with girls. They pulled through in the end, and I was very proud of that," said girls' Head Coach Jensen Perry. "Softball just started back up in Spanish Wells after being dormant for about 20 years. A lot of these high school players play on the senior teams so they are able to get some much needed experience and that helps," he added.
As for the Stingrays, they lost their first game of the tournament before bouncing back to make the championship game. They came within an out of winning the gold medal.
"I'm proud of these girls. They showed a lot of heart," said Stingrays' Assistant Coach Ashford Darville. "After losing their first game, they came back to finish within a play of winning the whole thing, so I'm very proud of them," he added.
Both victories represented the first Austin 'King Snake' Knowles National High School softball titles for the Spanish Wells Bulldogs.
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