By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas 10-and-and-under Pony League baseball team fell short against the Dominican Republic in their playoff game at the Caribbean & Latin American Zone Championships.

After completing pool three of the round robin with a perfect 3-0 win-loss record, the Bahamas fell short on Monday in their semifinal match in a 3-0 decision to the Dominican Republic, who had scored a total of 34 runs in winning their pool. 

Shilo Henfield got the start and pitched the first six innings before he was relieved by Tyler Smith, who pitched to one batter. 

The Bahamas bats didn’t have any success with the Dominican Republic pitcher. “We had one or two plays that we didn’t execute,” said Bahamas manager James Clarke. “It should have been 1-1 going into the bottom of the sixth. But it was purely a defensive game that went for about an hour and-a-half.”

Venezuela went to shutout the Dominican Republic 3-0 in the championship game to secure the berth into the World Series  in August. The Bahamas ended up third out of a field of 12 teams.

“I definitely think, despite all of the odds we had to overcome to get here, the guys played very well and they gelled very well,” Clarke said. “The main thing is a lot of people know that the Bahamas is very competitive in baseball. So I think it’s key for us to keep these coming up together so that they can continue to play at a high level and continue to keep the Bahamas on the map.”

Joining Henfield and Smith on Team Bahamas were Jacob Clarke (JBLN); Tre’Nardo Hart (JBLN); Michael Sweeting (Grand Bahama); Bruce Russell (Grand Bahama); Jace Wilchcombe (Grand Bahama); Raheem Adderly (JBLN); Jovani McKinney (JBLN); Tyler Smith (Freedom Farm); Reid Ingraham (Freedom Farm); Email Knowles (Grand Bahama) and Diondre Thompson (Grand Bahama).

Clarke, who worked on the coaching staff with Donovan Cox from Grand Bahama, Temico Smith from Freedom Farm and technical director Terran Rodgers, said the team could have been slightly different and the outcome could have gone another way if they had all their ducks in the pond.

“We’re the only country where we go and compete and even win and we don’t carry our best athletes or teams,” said Clarke, who indicated they had about five players from Freedom Farm whose parents opted for them not to travel at the last minute. “At some point, and this is not just for baseball, we have to get it right because, at the end of the day, if we had come here with our original thing, this would have been a no brainer for us to win. The team we originally assembled was just that good.”

The team will now make their return home on Wednesday after making a stopover in Miami, Florida. 

The players will then prepare for the Bahamas Baseball Association’s Junior Nationals in Grand Bahama next week.

Following the nationals, Clarke said the players will then go on their road trip to the United States with their various club teams to compete in some summer competition.