By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

In the midst of a pitcher’s duel and defensive battle, third baseman Sebastian Walcott cracked the game-winning run on a solo home run to help lift the pennant winning Queen’s College Comets to a 2-1 win over the defending champions St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine.

In a rematch of last year’s Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools junior boys’ softball championship series, the Comets prevailed with a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three series yesterday as they took advantage of their home field at Queen’s College.

Mustapha Strachan fired a four-hitter and kept the Big Red Machine’s offensive attack in check for the win on the mound with two strike outs.

Sprinter Otto Laing did his job on the mound for St Augustine’s College, holding the Comets to just two hits before Walcott handed him the loss on his lead off homer to start the fourth inning.

With the score tied at 1-1, the 6-foot Walcott drilled the first pitch from Laing deep into centre field and he cleared the bases for the in-the-parker and a 2-1 lead that held up for the win as the Comets started to celebrate with their fans.

“I felt good. I knew that as soon as the pitch came, I could hit the ball. I had that much confidence in myself,” said Walcott, the 13-year-old eighth grader at Queen’s College.

“It feels great to give the team the early lead in the series. SAC is a very good team.”

Game two is set for Wednesday at 3:30pm and the scene will shift to St Augustine’s College where the Big Red Machine, coached by Je’Vaughn Saunders, will have to wait or their reign as champions will be over as the Queen’s College, coached by Julian Kemp, look to avenge last year’s defeat.

If necessary, the third and deciding game could be played on Friday back at Queen’s College.

“We just have to play better defensively and cut down our errors,” Walcott said as they look ahead to game two.

Shane Albury, SAC’s assistant coach, said the Big Red Machine can easily pinpoint how they lost game one.

“Two to one, a very good game, a very good defensive game,” he said. “We didn’t execute in critical situations. Coming towards the end of the game, we started to get some momentum going, but Queen’s College made the plays and they came out victorious,” he added.

Albury said they just have to execute better in game two.

“We need to swing more for contact,” he pointed out. “A lot of guys were trying to swing for the hills when the speed of the pitch dropped and they were popping the ball up. So we just need to stay true to the game and make contact swinging through the ball.”

The Comets, behind their junkanoo music and cheering squad, jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, thanks to a RBI single from catcher Donovan Stuart that drove in Walcott, who had reached safely on base on an error.

The Big Red Machine, with a small cheering squad of their own, responded in the third when shortstop Dwayne Cartwright ripped a one-out triple to right-centre field and eventually stole home plate to level the score 1-1.

That set the stage for Walcott in the fourth, an inning the Comets also had to take first baseman Kayden Thompson off the field after he limped all the way around to second with two out on a shot to right field.

Pinch runner Deante Clarke came in for Thompson, but he was left stranded there as Laing got his only strike out on designated player Kenny Moxey to end the threat.

Again SAC had a chance to come back, this time with second baseman Joshua Burrows drawing a walk.

After Cartwright followed with a bunt single, Laing, who struck out in his first two at-bats, tried to squeeze in another but was called out at the plate.

Cartwright then got out on a forced grounder at second as pinch runner Kaylon Christie (in for Burrows), got to third.

However, Christie was left stranded there as third baseman Antoine Garrison popped up to end the game.

Game two is set for 3:30pm Wednesday at SAC.