By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

ULTIMATE Champion Sport Academy, formed by Bahamas Baseball Association president Clarence ‘CJ’ McKenzie to enhance the development of young baseball players in the country, had a pretty good trip to the USSSA World Series in Dallas, Texas, last week.

Ultimate Champion Sports’ under-11 team captured the Major DFW World Series title, while their 9-and under team were runners-up in the Dallas Fort Worth World Series and their 10-and-under team came in fourth.

In securing the title, Ultimate Champion Sports’ 11-and-under team   went undefeated in the seven games they played.

McKenzie managed the championship team assisted by coaches Recorda McPhee and Sean Adderley. The players were Karmelo Bain, TaKaryi Butler, Javari Edgecombe, Ayden Curry, Andrew Seymour, Carmelo Wallace, Jamere Williams, Jarrod Clarke Jr., Michael Sweeting, Kendrick Oliver and Kyrie Campbell.

The 9-and-under team, managed by head coach SeDale McKenzie and assisted by Rudy Ferguson II and Mornel Brown Sr, comprised of the following players: Dawson Grey, Riley Ferguson, Adam Thompson, Cortez Roberts, Karter Brown, Jalen Albury, Mornel Brown Jr., De’Mari Louis, Chaz Cunningham, Miguel Sweeting and Logan Knowles.

Individually, Miquel Sweeting won the fastest man award for the 9U division, Michael Sweeting was the fastest man runner up and Karmelo Bain was the Golden Arm runner up in the 11U division. Chaz Cunningham was the 9U tournament best offensive player, Javari Edgecombe was the 11U tournament best defensive player and Jamere Williams was the 11U tournament MVP.

This was Ultimate Champion Sports’ third time participating in the USSSA World Series and they were finally crowned champions, according to McKenzie.

“The team played a notch above the competition the entire tournament with stellar performances on offence and defence each game,” he said. 

“The pitching was superb led by starters Karmelo Bain, Carmelo Wallace and Javari Edgecombe of which the latter did not give up a single run in the tournament.”

McKenzie said their bats were also strong as they had multiple hitting sprees throughout led by Javari, Kyrie, Jamere, Carmelo and TaKaryi who had their lone home run in the tournament.

Despite some teams being bigger in size, it showed that Ultimate Champion Sports were better in skill.

“The tournament was super organised and the people were very friendly,” McKenzie said. “The kids are still talking about their experience watching the Texas Rangers vs Seattle Mariners game where they paraded on to the field before the game and ran around the bases after the game. “We were very pleased with Javari’s pitching and locking down first base as the best defensive player in the tournament and also very pleased with Jamere’s performance as he led the team in hitting with most hits, highest on base percentage and most runs scored earning him tournament MVP.”

Instead of receiving trophies, the players collected special and uniquely designed rings, something McKenzie said they will always cherish as it represents being a World Series champion.

The 9U team just missed winning their title as they lost 9-8 in their championship game. 

Manager SeDale McKenzie thanked CJ McKenzie for organising “this opportunity for us to compete in the tournament.”

He noted that it was their fifth international trip within the past 12 months, but the first time outside of Orlando, Florida.

“The Dallas-Fort Worth area is like a complete Disneyland for kids with various amusement parks and attractions,” he said. “Even though this was a business trip, boys will be boys and they had a chance to visit a few of these places.

“We ended up with a 6-3 record which allowed us to come in 2nd place with a total of 10 teams in our division.”

McKenzie sent out a special shoutout to Miguel Sweeting, the grandson of local legend Max Sweeting, who won the fastest man award in the skills competition. He also commended Chaz Cunningham who received the best offensive player award for their team.

“On our final day where it was win or go home, Chaz, Dawson Grey and Karter Brown pitched three great games to secure our second place,” McKenzie said. 

“At the end of the day, life in a nutshell is ya win some ya lose some, shoutout to our entire team and the parents for making sacrifices to support this organisation.”