With another exciting weekend of games in the books, Freedom Farm baseball appears to be at full strength as it gears up for another impressive showing at the Bahamas Baseball Federation's (BBF) championships this summer, and another run at a Cal Ripken/Major 60 World Series title.
It was that same Major League Division (11-12) which was on display this past Saturday when the Wild Dogs took on the Blue Marlins in one of the featured games of the day. Coach Greg Burrows Jr., the same coach who guided the Farmers to the 2010 World Series title, led his Wild Dogs team to an impressive 8-0 shutout victory over the Marlins.
The Wild Dogs, who were knocked out in the playoffs last year, are off to an impressive 3-1 start this year.
"Today, we hit the ball pretty well, and we had a good pitching performance from Paul Rolle. Overall, we played a solid game," said Burrows Jr.
"Our goal is to win the championship this year. That is what we're aiming for. Straight across the board, we're trying to get better from game to game.
"I don't think that we need to improve on anything in particular, but as we go along, we'll touch up on the things that we need to touch up on - the areas where we make mistakes during the game."
The Wild Dogs will play the 1-0 Iguanas next Saturday. They got a RBI triple from Diego Duncombe in the game and winning pitcher Rolle helped his own cause with a big home-run.
"I didn't pitch as hard as I expected to, but I guess it was good enough to be effective. I felt good about the home-run. I was looking to make contact and just hit it out," said Rolle.
Reserve pitcher Tnaige Wallace, who had a couple of key hits and played great defense from his second base position, said that overall they were pleased with their performance.
He is hopeful that they will be able to go all the way this year and win a championship.
"I think I could have pitched better, but I was pleased with my performance at the plate," said Wallace.
"I think that I could have hit the ball a little further but I was satisfied."
Losing coach Lionel Ferguson said that they fell down on basic fundamentals, but he is confident that his team could regroup and make a strong showing this season.
"We made one or two defensive mistakes. I think that had we played better defense, even though we didn't hit the ball that well, it would have been a much better game," he said.
"The talent is definitely there so if we learn the game a little better, we'll be right up there with the other teams. Just the basic fundamentals cost us today -- once we get those together, we'll have more fun on the field and win more games. If we're on the field, we definitely coming to win."
In that same age division this past weekend, the Hurricanes got past the defending champions Conchs, 9-8. In the T-Ball Division, the Cantaloupes blasted the Mangoes, 16-3, the Sea Grapes out-slugged the Guineps, 19-13, the Dillies and Jujus played to a 17-17 tie, and the Mangoes bounced back from their loss to the Cantaloupes to beat the Coco Plums, 17-9.
In the Coach Pitch Division, the Mosquitoes drilled the Wasps on Friday, 15-4, and shut out the Boas on Saturday, 12-0, the Bees knocked off the Red Ants, 11-5, and the Dragon Flies and Wasps played to a 6-6 tie. In the Minor League Division (9-10), the Barracudas completely overwhelmed the Red Snappers, 24-4, and the Octopus got past the Turbots, 8-2. In the Junior League Division (13-15), the Raccoons beat the Silver Jacks, 6-2, and the Sharks outlasted the Stingrays, 6-5.
The Freedom Farm Baseball League will move into Week Four of action this coming weekend with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Freedom Farm Baseball LeagueWeekend Results

T-Ball Division (5-6)
Cantaloupes 16, Mangoes 3
Sea Grapes 19, Guineps 13
Dillies 17, Jujus 17
Mangoes 17, Coco Plums 9

Coach Pitch (7-8)
Mosquitoes 15, Wasps 4
Bees 11, Red Ants 5
Dragon Flies 6, Wasps 6
Mosquitoes 12, Boas 0

Minor League (9-10)
Barracudas 24, Red Snappers 4
Octopus 8, Turbots 2

Major League (11-12)
Wild Dogs 8, Blue Marlins 0
Hurricanes 9, Conchs 8

Junior League (13-15)
Raccoons 6, Silver Jacks 2
Sharks 6, Stingrays 5

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