The softball family on St. Thomas lost two young men in separate incidents in the past few months. Ceneca Lindo was tragically killed in an accident on St. John. Dwayne Abbott succumbed to a medical illness. Both men were avid softball players and members of Griffith Park Massive softball team. The Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation is hosting a fastpitch tournament in their honor this weekend.
Los Rumis 15 – Griffith Park Massive 5
This was a close contest until the wheels fell off for Griffith Park Massive in the third inning. They gave up 11 runs in that inning on their way to losing their first game of the Memorial Fastpitch Softball Tournament 15-5 to Los Rumis Saturday afternoon at the Emile Griffith Ballpark.
In that toxic third inning for GPM, their pitchers walked seven batters and allowed two hits. One of those hits flew over the centerfield fence for a grand slam home run by Rafe Barete. J. Nieves was the winning pitcher for Los Rumis, while Elston Rhymer took the loss for GPM. Barate, Eddy Morales, and Freddy Ballejo had one hit each for Los Rumis. Andre Peters, Akeem Francis, and Williams Lawrence collected one hit each for Griffith Park Massive.
FEDS 11 – St. Thomas Stars 4
The St. Thomas Stars dug a deep hole for themselves in the first inning by walking four batters, hitting three more with pitches, and giving up two hits as the FEDS scored nine runs in that opening frame of their 11-4 victory in the Memorial Fastpitch Softball Tournament at the Emile Griffith Ballpark on Saturday afternoon.
Young Shaquille Lewis of the St. Thomas Stars just could not find her groove, only pitching 15 of her 40 pitches over the plate for strikes. Her teammates didn’t offer much support as they committed four costly errors. Lewis’ counterpart on the mound had no such troubles as veteran right-hander Jenna Castro allowed only one walk in four innings of work for the FEDS. Rashida Rawlins was the only player in the game with multiple hits. She recorded two for the FEDS. Reneah Guzman, Aleah Mann and Krysti Rosa each had one hit for the FEDS. The St. Thomas Stars had five different batters with one hit each.
Spartans 9 – Los Rumis 5
This was a pitching duel for the first three innings until the Spartans bat came alive in the top of the fourth, sparking the Spartans to their first win of the Memorial Fastpitch Softball Tournament Saturday at the Emily Griffith Ballpark.
The Spartans held a slim 2-1 lead going into their half of the fourth inning. Andanskee Henry, Luis Encarnacion, Julio Carmona II all stroked consecutive singles with one out in the frame. Two batters later, leadoff batter Javier Velez doubles to right field, driving home Carmona. Marquise Sexius then cleared the bases with an inside-the-park home run to left field.
The Spartans scored six runs in that fourth inning, putting the game out of reach. Jesus Perez earned the win for the Spartans while Ramirez Willy took the loss; Velez, Henry, Shakeel Newton, and Luis Encarnacion produced two hits each for the winning team. Mario Paredes and Zapata Ramon registered two hits each for Los Rumis.
Llacos 15 – Griffith Park Massive 5
Llacos took complete control of this game in the bottom of the first by marching 14 runs across home plate, handing Griffith Park Massive a 15-5 beating in the final game of the Memorial Fastpitch Softball Tournament on Saturday evening. Llacos showed no mercy as they pounded out eight hits in the first inning. All 14 runs were scored before GPM could record the first out.
Steve Simmonds and Eric Perez each launched home runs in this contest for Llacos. Edwin Otero got the win while Kareem Henley was on the hook for the loss. Otero was outstanding on the mound and in the batter’s box as he collected three hits for the Llacos. Perez, Simmonds, and Stephon Walwayn added two hits each for the winning team. Lloyd Jackson was the top hitter for GPM with two hits.
