Friday, July 20, 2018

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#THE run for the Bahamas and Freedom Farm Baseball League came to an end in the semi-finals at the Caribbean Regional Qualifier for the Little League World Series.

#Freedom Farm suffered a 3-0 loss to the tournament’s number one seed – Radames Lopez Little League of Puerto Rico – yesterday at the Quintin Hernandez Park in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.

#Andru Arthur had 10 strikeouts on the mound for Freedom Farm in the loss. They will now face Aruba for the bronze medal at 10am today.

#Puerto Rico will go on face Curacao in today’s final at 1pm. Curacao defeated Aruba 5-2 in the other semi-final. The winner will advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, next month.

#Participating teams in the event include defending Caribbean champions Los Bravos de Pontezuela (Santiago, Dominican Republic), Aruba Center (Santa Cruz, Aruba), Pabao (Willemstad, Curacao), Radames Lopez (Guayama, Puerto Rico A), Gino Vega (Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico B) and District 1 (St Thomas, US Virgin Islands).

#Freedom Farm earned the rights to represent the Bahamas after they were declared the winner of the Bahamas Baseball Association’s National Championships that was played recently at the Emera Baseball Stadium in Grand Bahama.

#After opening the tournament with three consecutive wins, the Bahamas is now in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

#In game one, Freedom Farm defeated the team from the Dominican Republic 3-2 and followed with a 10-3 win over Gino Vega LL. They improved to 3-0 with a dominant 13-2 win over District 1 LL of the US Virgin Islands. They suffered their first loss of the tournament in their earlier meeting against Radames Lopez LL 7-4 in the first game of a double header, followed by a 10-9 loss to Pabao. The Farmers then suffered a 4-3 loss on a walk-off hit from Aruba, but maintained fourth position in the standings and advanced to the semi-final.

FREEDOM Farm Baseball League’s under-12 team is expected to compete in the Cal Ripken Baseball World Series at BallParks of Americas Field in Branson, Missouri, this weekend.

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#FREEDOM Farm Baseball League will continue its summer of international competition in the Under-12 division.

#The team is set to compete in the Cal Ripken Baseball World Series (Major/70) August 3-11 at BallParks of Americas Field in Branson, Missouri.

#They will take on Australia at 3pm on August 4, followed by a matchup against New Zealand at 3pm August 6 and the final game of the preliminary round against Puerto Rico at 3pm on August 7.

#The Bahamas is one of 24 teams competing in the division and one of just 10 international teams alongside the aforementioned teams in their pool with Korea, Japan, Canada and Dominican Republic.

#Major 70 is a level of baseball beyond Little League but before professional that allows players to play on 70-foot base paths with a 50-foot pitching distance. It also allows runners to take leads and steal for the first time, playing mainly by official baseball rules.

#This innovation helped to prepare the youth for better transition to the 90-foot diamonds of the Babe Ruth Baseball 13-15 and 16-18 divisions of play.

#Today, Babe Ruth League has more than 1,000,000 players on 56,000 teams in 9,000 leagues in eight countries and all 50 states.

#Just over a week ago Freedom Farm closed out competition at the Caribbean Regional Qualifier for the Little League World Series with an historic finish for the Bahamas. The team claimed the bronze medal at the event with a 6-1 win over Aruba at the tournament in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.

#Participating teams in the event included Los Bravos de Pontezuela (Santiago, Dominican Republic), Aruba Center (Santa Cruz, Aruba), Pabao (Willemstad, Curacao), Radames Lopez (Guayama, Puerto Rico A), Gino Vega (Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico B) and District 1 (St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands).

#Radames Lopez won the tournament 5-2 over Pabao and will represent the Caribbean at the Little League World Series August 16-26 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

#They completed the tournament undefeated at 8-0. It will be the first time a Puerto Rican side has represented the region in the event since 2014.

#After opening the tournament with three consecutive wins, the Bahamas suffered a four-game losing streak before concluding with the win in the bronze-medal game.

FREEDOM Farm Baseball League’s under-12 team is expected to compete in the Cal Ripken Baseball World Series at BallParks of Americas Field in Branson, Missouri, this weekend.

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#FREEDOM Farm Baseball League will continue its summer of international competition in the Under-12 division.

#The team is set to compete in the Cal Ripken Baseball World Series (Major/70) August 3-11 at BallParks of Americas Field in Branson, Missouri.

#They will take on Australia at 3pm on August 4, followed by a matchup against New Zealand at 3pm August 6 and the final game of the preliminary round against Puerto Rico at 3pm on August 7.

#The Bahamas is one of 24 teams competing in the division and one of just 10 international teams alongside the aforementioned teams in their pool with Korea, Japan, Canada and Dominican Republic.

#Major 70 is a level of baseball beyond Little League but before professional that allows players to play on 70-foot base paths with a 50-foot pitching distance. It also allows runners to take leads and steal for the first time, playing mainly by official baseball rules.

#This innovation helped to prepare the youth for better transition to the 90-foot diamonds of the Babe Ruth Baseball 13-15 and 16-18 divisions of play.

#Today, Babe Ruth League has more than 1,000,000 players on 56,000 teams in 9,000 leagues in eight countries and all 50 states.

#Just over a week ago Freedom Farm closed out competition at the Caribbean Regional Qualifier for the Little League World Series with an historic finish for the Bahamas. The team claimed the bronze medal at the event with a 6-1 win over Aruba at the tournament in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.

#Participating teams in the event included Los Bravos de Pontezuela (Santiago, Dominican Republic), Aruba Center (Santa Cruz, Aruba), Pabao (Willemstad, Curacao), Radames Lopez (Guayama, Puerto Rico A), Gino Vega (Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico B) and District 1 (St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands).

#Radames Lopez won the tournament 5-2 over Pabao and will represent the Caribbean at the Little League World Series August 16-26 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

#They completed the tournament undefeated at 8-0. It will be the first time a Puerto Rican side has represented the region in the event since 2014.

#After opening the tournament with three consecutive wins, the Bahamas suffered a four-game losing streak before concluding with the win in the bronze-medal game.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Freedom Farm capped an undefeated performance at the 2015 Southeast Regional 12 and Under Major/60 tournament with a 12-1 win over Kinston, North Carolina. They won by virtue of a walk-off home run to win via the 10-run mercy rule through four innings.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#After a dominant performance last week on the road against international competition, Freedom Farm is headed to the 2015 Cal Ripken Major/60 World Series.

#Freedom Farm capped an undefeated performance at the 2015 Southeast Regional 12 and Under Major/60 tournament with a 12-1 win over Kinston, North Carolina. They won by virtue of a walk-off home run to win via the 10-run mercy rule through four innings.

#Freedom Farm’s path to the title included a 5-1 victory over New Kent, Virginia, 12-2 over Winter Park, North Carolina and 10-3 in the first matchup over Kinston.

#The team now advances to the Cal Ripken Major/60 World Series hosted in Monticello, Arkansas, August 7-14. They look to repeat history following the triumph of the 2010 team when the Freedom Farm side won the Southeast Regional Championship and went on to win the Ripken Major/60 title.

#The Farmers are one of eight regional champions that are headed to the national tournament.

#The Cal Ripken Major/60 World Series is among the seven national championship baseball tournaments that’s part of the Babe Ruth League. Included is the popular Cal Ripken Major/70 division that pits teams within the United States as well as international teams that are also 12-and-under.

#The finale will be divided into two four-team pools, and seeded following a round-robin.

#The group stage is followed by single elimination playoffs.

#The Babe Ruth League is an international youth baseball and softball league based in Trenton, New Jersey.

#It was organised in 1951 as a baseball programme for boys aged 13 to 15.

#By 2010, Babe Ruth League, Inc. had more than one million players on 56,000 teams in 9,000 leagues in six countries and all 50 US states.

uesday, August 7, 2018

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#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#Team Bahamas (Freedom Farm Baseball League) opened with consecutive wins in the preliminary round of Cal Ripken Baseball Major 70 World Series.

#The team moved to 2-0 after a dominant 12-1 win over New Zealand yesterday at the BallParks of Americas Field in Branson, Missouri.

#Andru Arhur went the distance and pitched a no hitter with eight strikeouts en route to the win.

#Lavardo Deveaux had a home run, drove in three RBI and scored three runs. Daniel Gator drove in three RBI and scored one run while Arthur also helped his own cause with two RBI and one run. The Bahamas opened the tournament with a 14-4 win over Australia on Saturday. Cleve Sutherland and Brian Johnson each had three strikeouts on the mound in the win.

#Gator drove in three RBI and scored one run.

#“I was just swinging for contact and just trying to get the ball into the outfield so I can get a base hit and help my team score runs,” he said in the postgame press conference.

#Deveaux had two RBI and scored three runs, Breyias Dean had two RBI while Kashon Conliffe and Arthur each scored two runs. “Those guys have very good pitching so we had to be sure to keep focused. Our game, we depend on our athleticism so we make sure we use that to our advantage to ensure we get some runs. Bunting is something we had to implement to get some runs and place some runners in scoring position,” said coach Stephen Burrows.

#“I think as we go along in this tournament we have to do more of that and our defence has to be a little bit tighter for us to put our best game together.”

#They will complete the preliminary round against Puerto Rico at 3pm today.

#The Bahamas is one of 24 teams competing in the tournament and one of just 10 international teams alongside the aforementioned teams in their pool – Korea, Japan, Canada and Dominican Republic.

#Major 70 is a level of baseball beyond Little League but before professional that allows players to play on 70-foot base paths with a 50-foot pitching distance. It also allows runners to take leads and steal for the first time, playing mainly by official baseball rules.

#This innovation helped to prepare the youth for better transition to the 90-foot diamonds of the Babe Ruth Baseball 13-15 and 16-18 divisions of play. Today, the Babe Ruth League has more than 1,000,000 players on 56,000 teams in 9,000 leagues in eight countries and all 50 states.

#Last month, Freedom Farm closed out competition at the Caribbean Regional Qualifier for the Little League World Series with an historic finish for the Bahamas. The team claimed the bronze medal at the event with a 6-1 win over Aruba at the tournament in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.

#Participating teams in the event included Los Bravos de Pontezuela (Santiago, Dominican Republic), Aruba Center (Santa Cruz, Aruba), Pabao (Willemstad, Curacao), Radames Lopez (Guayama, Puerto Rico A), Gino Vega (Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico B) and District 1 (St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands).

#Radames Lopez won the tournament 5-2 over Pabao and will represent the Caribbean at the Little League World Series August 16-26 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

#After opening the tournament with three consecutive wins, the Bahamas suffered a four-game losing streak before concluding with the win in the bronze-medal game.

ay, July 26, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#GREG Burrows Sr, founder of Freedom Farm Baseball, has ascended to one of the top positions of the prestigious Babe Ruth organisation as the Commissioner with responsibility for the Caribbean.

#With immediate effect, Burrows Sr will have jurisdiction over the Bahamas, Curacao, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St Kitts, Mexico and Bermuda.

#Burrows Sr, a former senator in the Progressive Liberal Party, has revealed that he has already identified a commissioner to serve in Curacao, who will assist him in the development of Babe Ruth Baseball in the region.

#Additionally, Burrows Sr will be looking at possible candidates to fill the role as commissioner in the rest of the member countries, including the Bahamas, with the view of forming a body for the further development of Babe Ruth in the region and ultimately to serve a Caribbean Championships.

#“It gives me the opportunity to not only develop baseball and players in wholesome activities in the Bahamas, but to also interact with foreign leaders in baseball and bring together as plans to formulate and execute the way forward for baseball in the Caribbean,” Burrows said.

#By virtue of sending teams off from Freedom Farm, the Junior Baseball League of Nassau and Grand Bahama to the Babe Ruth Tournament, Burrows Sr said the Bahamas is in a better position to help spread the brand throughout the other countries in the region.

#And with the Bahamas government on the verge of completing the new national baseball stadium at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, Burrows Sr said he intends to take advantage of the sports tourism and turn it into a baseball mecca in the country.

#“We have little leverage to host these types of tournaments so that we can showcase our kids right here at home,” Burrows Sr said. “So there is a lot of potential for the sport moving forward.”

#With no term of tenure in office, Burrows Sr said his mandate is to get the Babe Ruth Baseball as a household brand just as it is in the United States, honouring one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

#Babe Ruth, whose real name was George Herman Ruth, died on August 16, 1948 at the age of 53. He was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons from 1914 through 1935.

#Nicknamed “The Bambino” and “The Sultan of Swat”, Babe Ruth began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees.

#Among his list of achievements were two-time All-Star, seven-time World Series champion, American League most valuable player and batting champion. He produced a ,342 batting average with 2,873 hits, 714 home runs, 2,213 runs batted in (RBI) with a 94-46 win-loss record and an earned run average (ERA) of 2.28.

#Burrows Sr, who has helped to mentor and groom countless numbers of Bahamian players who went on to continue high school or secure athletic scholarships to colleges and universities in the United States and even become professional baseball players, said he’s honoured to be serving as the commissioner for the region of such a legendary player.

#Freedom Farm was founded by Burrows Sr in 1989 to help develop the skills of young baseball players. They now cater to players from the coach pitch to senior league.

Friday, July12, 2019

Pro basketball player Jaraun ‘Keno’ Burrows in action.

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#SEVERAL Bahamian pro basketball players inked new deals with their respective clubs this offseason.

#Jaraun “Kino” Burrows will move to a new club in France, while Kentwan Smith signs in France for the first time and Kadeem Coleby re-signs for another season in Japan.

#Burrows signed with Aix-Maurienne Savoie LNB French Pro League following last year’s injury-shortened season with the Fos-Sue-Mur Provence Basketball Byers in Jeep ELITE Pro A. He averaged 8.6 points and three rebounds per game last season. The Byers concluded the 2018 season with the French LNB Pro B title and was granted promotion to Pro A for the first time in club history. Following the title, Burrows reached an agreement on a contract extension with the club.

#In his first full season with the club, he averaged 13.9 points on 61.5 per cent shooting from the field and 5.1 rebounds in just over 25 minutes per game.

#Burrows first signed with the Byers in April 2016 for a late-season stint and playoff run.

#In 12 games, he averaged 10.7 points, four rebounds and three assists in just over 25 minutes per game and the team reached the Pro B semi-finals.

#Prior to his French debut, he spent the bulk of the 2016-17 season, for Hapoel Haifa in Israel’s Liga Leumit – the second tier level league in the country. He appeared in a total of 26 games for them and averaged 21.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

#The 6’8″, 220-pound veteran forward’s career has also included stops in Sweden, Finland, Eastern Europe and South America.

#Smith agreed to terms with Garonne ASPTT in the French NM2 League, the fourth division in the country. He spent last season with FOG Naestved of Denmark’s BasketLigaen the top level of basketball in the country.

#In 31 games he averaged 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as his team reached the league semi-finals.

#The 6’8″, 26-year-old forward spent the 2017 season with a pair of teams in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

#Smith has also played professionally in Finland, Mexico and Romania.

#Coleby will return to the Akita Northern Happinets for a third season with the club in the Japanese B-League.

#Last season, in 52 games for the Happinets, Coleby averaged 12.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and a league- leading 2.4 blocks per game. He shot 54 per cent from the field and also added 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

#Coleby completed his second season with the Happinets after they were promoted from the B2 League last year.

#In his first campaign with the club, he posted averages of 11.9 points, 6.9 rebounds per game on 58 per cent shooting from the field and 1.6 blocks per game.

#The Happinets finished the season 17-43, fifth in the East division.

#The season also presented the opportunity for Kadeem to be reunited on the court with his younger brother Dwight Coleby on the Happinets roster.

#Dwight joined the Happinets following his stint in Belgium with Liege Basket in Belgium’s Pro Basketball League (PBL).

#In 13 games with the club, he has averaged 14.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

Friday, October 11, 2019

JARAUN “Kino” Burrows (with the ball) in action.

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#JARAUN “Kino” Burrows got the best of his former team and led his new club to win in a matchup of LNB French Pro League powerhouses.

#Burrows’ Aix-Maurienne Savoie defeated Fos-Sue-Mur Provence Basketball Byers 100-90 in Disneyland Paris Leaders’ Cup, a precursor to the regular season.

#Burrows finished with 22 points and four rebounds in the win.

#Aix Maurienne will open the regular season on October 11 against Lillie.

#In an injury-plagued season, he averaged 8.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last year for the Byers.

#In 2018, in his first full season with the club, Burrows averaged 13.9 points on 61.5 per cent shooting from the field and 5.1 rebounds in just over 25 minutes per game. He helped the club to a French LNB Pro B title and was granted promotion to Pro A for the first time in club history. Following the title, he reached an agreement on a contract extension with the club.

#Burrows first signed with the Byers in April 2017 for a late-season stint and playoff run. In 12 games, he averaged 10.7 points, four rebounds and three assists in just over 25 minutes per game and the team reached the Pro B semi-finals.

#Prior to his French debut, he spent the bulk of the 2016-17 season for Hapoel Haifa in Israel’s Liga Leumit – the second tier level league in the country.

#He appeared in a total of 26 games for them and averaged 21.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

#The 6’8”, 220-pound veteran forward’s career has also included stops in Sweden, Finland, Eastern Europe and South America.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DOMINICK Bridgewater signs with the FOS Provence Basketball Byers Club.

#DOMINICK Bridgewater made Bahamian basketball history by becoming the first player to make the jump straight from high school to the professional ranks.

#Bridgewater, 18, signed a Junior Pro contract with the FOS Provence Basketball Byers Club, making him eligible to be named to the organisation’s Pro-A roster for the remainder of the season.For the past seven months, he has been a member of the club’s Epoirs (Junior League – U21).

#His season thus far was highlighted when he was named the MVP of a preseason tournament (18 points and 11 assists per game) hosted in Tain, France.

#Through 18 games, he has averaged 16.1 points, 4.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game.

#The Epoirs team spent much of the regular season working against the Byers A-League team, which includes fellow Bahamian player Jaraun “Kino” Burrows. It was Burrows who eventually facilitated Bridgewater’s move to the French club. “My first intention was to go to Division I because that’s where I saw Buddy Hield and so many other guys play.

#“After the US Embassy denied me [my student VISA], I thought it was hopeless, but this opportunity has been life-changing,” Bridgewater said.

#“The best part about life in France is getting in the gym four times a day, working on my game, getting better, getting stronger and off the court meeting new people. Living in a different country, different atmosphere, eating different food, just being a part of the culture, it’s changed me as a person off the court as well.”

#The Epoirs team also competes in the league consisting of all of the junior divisions of each team in LNB French Pro A League.

#“My game changed so much the last few months because I feel like I’ve gotten better every day, working on the areas I need to all the time. Shooting, dribbling, learning how to pass, my vision has definitely gotten better and just thinking through the game more,” Bridgewater said.

#“Coming out of the junior league I had more freedom to do what I want on the court but at the next level I know I have to work even harder, be more efficient and learn from the people around me everyday.”

#Bridgewater recently had an opportunity to make his senior national team debut as a member of team Bahamas that finished second among Group Phase A at the AmeriCup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers in Belize. The team concluded with a 2-1 record.

#Locally, he completed an accomplished tenure on the court for the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves following a brief stint at Carol City High School in Miami, Florida.

#He

#led the team to the 2017 GSSSA Senior Boys Championship, for the past two editions of the National High School Championships, he was the tournament’s leading scorer and was named an all-tournament selection.

#At the junior national team level, Bridgewater was also a member of a pair of squads to represent the country.

#In 2016, he won MVP en route to leading the Bahamas to the gold medal of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation’s Under-16 Tournament when he averaged 18.2 points and 3.8 assists per game. He followed with an appearance at the Centrobasket Under-17 Championships where he averaged 24.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

#He was also selected to represent the Bahamas at the Basketball Without Borders Americas Camp in 2017. Basketball Without Borders features the top 66 boys and girls from 16 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean.

#Bridgewater encouraged others to follow his path and explore all options in their pursuit. “I would tell young players, work hard, give it everything you have because no matter what happens, you never let anyone kill your dreams.”

As of Tuesday, September 1, 2020

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#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#SEVERAL Bahamian pro basketball players have returned to the court in their respective leagues in Europe for preseason play ahead of their 2020-21 campaigns.

#Lashann Higgs officially began her rookie season with Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM in Spain’s Liga Femenina Endesa, the top division of women’s basketball in the country.

#Higgs scored 14 points to help her club to an 87-61 win over Club Deportivo Zamarart in her debut.

#The Liga Femenina Endesa includes 14 teams and a 26-game regular season.

#The top eight teams make the playoffs, while the bottom two seeds are relegated to the second division.

#Pepe Vazquez, head coach of the club, said he expects Higgs to provide an immediate impact with her versatility.

#“She is a very good level player,” he said at Biembre Digital at the time of her acquisition. “She is a very physical and explosive player. Extraordinary out in the open and on the run…I like her defensive intensity. She is versatile, a combo that can play either guard position.”

#Dominick Bridgewater made his debut with Sapela Basket 13 of France’s Nationale Masculine 2 (NM2) League.

#Bridgewater, a member of the For-Sur-Mer Provence Byers Club, was placed on loan to Sapela Basket 13 this offseason and his promotion to NM2 is the highest of his career thus far.

#Sapela has played exhibitions against the Byers and St Valliers thus far and Bridgewater has seen substantial playing time at point guard.

#It has been a seamless transition to the professional level for the 20-year-old Bridgewater after standout seasons as a member of the Byers’ Epoirs (Junior League – U21) and NM3 League teams.

#“We are pleased to be able to official the loan of our young leader Bahamian, Domnick R Bridgewater,” the Byers said in the official announcement.

#“Domnick will be able to complete his training in NM2 under the orders of the former assistant of Giuitta Rémi, Alexandre Casimiri.”

#Veteran national team player Kentwan Smith also plays in the NM2 League and re-signed with Garonne ASPTT for a second consecutive season.

#He got off to a quick start in the preseason and made his first three field goals of their debut.

#In 16 games with the club last season, he averaged 12.9 points per game and Garonne ended the regular season with the second-best record in the league.

#Smith’s pro career has taken him to five different countries on three different continents.