STT Dominates Day One of Inter-Islands RBI Junior League Games

Respect’s Jahdiel Bermudez hits a triple in weekend RBI Junior League Inter-Island play. (Photo by Mark J Daniel)

Teams from St Thomas dominated play on day one of the two-day inter-island RBI Junior League* games. The St Thomas softball teams travel to St. Croix while the two baseball teams from St Croix made their way over to St. Thomas.

Baseball on St Thomas
Integrity 11 – Respect 6: Integrity showed little respect to their visitors from across the waters as St. Thomas Integrity defeated St. Croix Respect 11-6 in RBI Junior Baseball play at the Lionel Roberts Stadium on Friday.

Integrity started the game with a five-run, two-out rally in the first inning. Integrity’s Caheal Turnbull and D’Mauri Richardson both got hits in the opening frame – Turnbull’s was a two-run inside the park home run In the third, Ajai Thomas and Richardson stroked back-to-back singles generating two more runs for the home team, giving Integrity a six-run lead. That was good enough for Integrity’s starting pitcher Sekai Pinney, who earned a complete-game win collecting eight strikeouts along the way.

Respect out-hit Integrity, eight to five. Respect’s Jequan Weste led the way going 3-of-3 at the plate. Januelle Morales also had a perfect day at the plate, going 2-of-2 for Respect. Jahl Garcia, Thomas Corcino and Yariel Rodriguez had one hit each for the team from St. Croix. Richardson led Integrity’s offensive attack going 2-of-2. Turnbull, Thomas and Edwin Velez all had one hit each for Integrity.

Dream Chasers 7 – Saints 5:
It was the clash of the titans as the top two teams, St. Croix Saints (8-1) and St. Thomas Dream Chasers (7-2), in the RBI Junior Baseball League took the field on Friday at Kirwan Terrace Ballpark on St. Thomas.

Dream Chasers starting pitcher Glen Maduro III and reliever Ly’Dale Brathwaite combined to hold the Saints to just three hits over this time-shortened four-inning game. Maduro struck out five batters while allowing three walks and three hits in three innings of work. Brathwaite sat down two Saints via strikeout and didn’t surrender a hit, but walked two batters in his one inning of work.

Dream Chasers demonstrated the meaning of timely hitting as they registered all five of their hits for the game in the second, leading to six runs. Brathwaite started things off with a solid single to right field. Three consecutive singles by Rigobel Larad, Luis Encarnacion and Jayden Lawrence scored one run and left the bases loaded. Maduro then stepped to the plate and launched a pitch to deep centerfield emptying the bases with his stand-up double.

The top team in the league responded with a big inning of its own, scoring five runs in the bottom of the third. A Tyrone Lake single, sandwiched between a pair of walks, left the bases loaded for the Saints. An error, a passed ball and a fielder’s choice allowed each of those runners to score. Later in that inning, Raynaldo Corcino lined an RBI double to left field. Corcino then scored on an error by Dream Chasers. In the bottom of the final inning, Corcino found himself at the plate again in a crucial situation. This time there were two outs but the bases were full with Saints on first, second and third. Corcino bounced a 2-2 pitch harmlessly to the third baseman, ending the treat and the game.

Maduro got the win for Dream Chasers. D’Lani Charles took the loss in a noble effort. Charles came in to relieve starter Kineil Stevens in the second inning. Charles punched out four and only gave up one hit in two and two-thirds innings of work.

Softball on St Croix
Ain’t No Vibes 3 – Going Places 2:
In one of the better-played games of the season, St. Thomas Ain’t No Vibes escaped with a nail-biting 3-2 victory over St. Croix Going Places on Friday at the DC Canegata Ballpark in St. Croix.

Both starters threw 90-plus pitches while going the distance. Winning pitcher Jamia Cochrane tallied 98 pitches, striking out nine batters while scattering nine hits for Ain’t No Vibes. Going Places’ Dirajah O’Reilly was equally impressive, throwing 91 pitches while only allowing two hits in the loss.

Missed opportunities was the theme for Going Places in this contest. Going Places left 10 runners on base, seven of them standing in scoring position when the third out was recorded.

JKoia Percival and Shaquilla Lewis collected the two hits for Ain’t No Vibes. Elisha Ramirez and O’Reilly tallied two hits each for Going Places. Celena Burke, Rashani Sackey, Tnashe Maynard, Riyanna Nieves and Kaylee Corinco all had one hit each for Going Places.

All The Way 11 – Good Vibes 7:
St. Thomas All The Way used a five-run sixth inning to pull away from St.Croix Good Vibes in the RBI Junior Softball League game at the DC Canegata Ballpark on St. Croix on Friday.

Both starters had rocky first innings but settled down as the game progressed. Allysa Brady was on the mound for Good Vibes while Mekaela Richardson was given the ball for All The Way. Rashell Machuca started the game by drawing a walk for All The Way. She crossed home plate on Sapphire Cruz single to centerfield. Good Vibes Brady’s control issues allowed All The Way to score three more runs in the opening inning. In the bottom of the first, Good Vibes scored three runs making the most of two All The Way errors.

The game remained close and was tied at six after five innings, when the time limit for the game elapsed. The sixth inning was considered the start of extra innings. In the RBI league, a runner is placed on second base to start each half inning when bonus baseball is needed. All The Way placed Richardson on second base to start their half of the sixth. Richardson was caught attempting to score for the first out of the inning. Later, Machuca and Cruz hit back-to-back triples driving in a total of three runs. Two Good Vibes errors permitted two more All The Way runs to score. In the bottom of the sixth, JahLaiyah Hendrickson was the Good Viber who was placed on second base. Nia Francis flew out to centerfield and Hendrickson was caught attempting to steal third base. Dyarra Peters roped a line-drive home run to right field before the game ended.

Richardson earned the win for All The Way while Allysa Brady got the loss. All The Way Cruz was the only player in the game with multiple hits.

*RBI stands for Reviving Baseball in Inner City. It is an outreach program created by Major League Baseball, sponsored in the territory by the Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation to create a love for the game of baseball and use that to foster the value of teamwork, working hard to achieve their goals, academic excellence and community service.