By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

THE Ultimate Champion Sports Academy team, made up of players from Freedom Farm, the Junior Baseball League of Nassau and the Grand Bahama Little League, was so impressive in their recent performances that they have now earned a ranking in the United States Specialty Sports Association 10AA Division.

The team, led by Bahamas Baseball Association president Clarence ‘CJ’ McKenzie, is now pegged at number six in the USSSA 10AA Division in the United States out of 1,872 teams after their back-to-back tournament wins.

The team recently returned from the Central Florida USSSA Battle of the Lakes Tournament that was held from April 26-27 in Umatilla, Florida.

Prior to that trip, the Ultimate Champion Sports Academy’s 10U team won last month’s USSSA War on I-4 in the 10U AA Division against 15 teams from the state of Florida.

McKenzie managed the team and was assisted by Sean Adderley and SeDale McKenzie. 

The players were Elisha Thompson, Ace Adderley, Caleb Munroe, Jermaine Clarke, Chaz Cunningham, Myles Culmer, Jason Cartwright Jr., Michael Wilson, Zahmir Monehal-Rolle and Bruce Russell.

In their last outing, the team went undefeated, winning all five games with four being stopped by the mercy rule. 

According to McKenzie, the team was tested early in games but was able to pull away from the competition as the games went on.

“We scored the most runs in the tournament at 63 giving up just 14,” McKenzie stated. 

“In the playoffs our pitching was phenomenal as we had great starts from Chaz Cunningham, who won the quarter-finals for us.

“Ace Adderley pitched the semi-finals game and was our winning pitcher.

“And Elisha Thompson was the winning pitcher in the championship game,” he added.

McKenzie could only sing the praises of the performances of the players. 

“I was very pleased with the team’s performance as we made spectacular plays on defence and had a hitting parade on offence game after game,” McKenzie said. 

“This team knows how to win tournaments.

“I was delighted to see the team’s ranking improve from 28th to 6th out of 1,751 teams throughout the United States as a result of their back-to-back championships.”

The next tournament will be in June for the USSSA Dallas Fort Worth World Series in Texas as they will face teams from all over the US.