Men’s Softball National Returns After a Decade

Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. After a ten-year hiatus, the Men’s National Softball Tournament is back. The games were played over the weekend in Sandhill Village. Spectators from across the country filled the stadium to cheer on their favorite teams. Tonight, we bring you highlights from the gold-medal matchup between Belize City’s Wolfpack and the Hattieville Cubs.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Here we are at the bottom of the second inning. Neither of the teams have been able to score a run up to this point in the game. Shareef Humes up to bat for Wolfpack with runners on first and second. He connects and sends the ball flying into right field. That hit brought Bryan Grant home for the first run of the game. Christian Hernandez came from behind with a massive hit into left field. Keron Tillett and Shareef Humes made it home on that play, bringing Wolfpack’s score to three runs.

 

Wolfpack made a fourth run at the bottom of the second inning, following an error by the catcher. Christian Hernandez with the slide to home base. This is the top of the third. The Hattieville Cubs are up to bat with their minds set on closing that gap. Bases are loaded. Brandon Rogers Junior hit a ground ball past the shortstop and into center field. Milton Flores makes it home. But watch as Brandon Rogers Senior slides into home plate. It is a very close one and the umpire calls it an out. One run for Hattieville.

 

 

 

Malique James swings at the high pitch. The pitcher is unable to stop the ball. A bad throw to first base sends number eight and Rogers Junior home. That’s now three runs for Hattieville Cubs. Malique James there on second base catching his breath. With James on third after stealing a base, Jayson Garcia sends a ground ball to the shortstop. James makes the run and ties that brings it to an even score at four apiece.

 

 

 

Both teams were unable to make any runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Brandon Rogers Junior for Hattieville Cubs got the closest to gaining a lead at the top of the fifth inning. Garcia is tagged on his way to first base. Rogers gets caught between two fielders on his way to home base. Unaware that the ball fell, he sprints back to home base, but Wolfpack still gets the out.  Here at the top of the sixth inning, Flores did what needed to be done to give his team the lead and put this Men’s Softball National in the books. Yes folks, the match ended in favor of the Hattieville Cubs with five runs to the Wolfpack’s four runs.

 

 

Jason Garcia secured three individual awards, including Most Run Batted In, Best Earned Run Average, Best Pitcher and the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament award. So, the silver medal went to Wolfpack. Camalote’s men’s softball team secured the bronze medal in the tournament. This is a team that was put together last minute to compete. Quite exceptional performances there from the top three teams.

 

 

And, as Hattieville Cubs celebrate, the 2024 BEBL Champions, the Benny’s Belize Hurricanes held their victory parade on Saturday afternoon through the streets of Belize City. A player’s truck and a fan truck were featured in the parade, along with several other vehicles sounding victory horns. Paul Flowers, the General Manager of the Benny’s Belize Hurricanes, appeared to be extremely excited and pleased as he held that championship trophy, even waving it to onlookers. We spoke with Gilbert Gordon, the Chief Executive Officer of the organization, ahead of the parade.

 

 

Gilbert Gordon, Chief Executive Officer, Hurricanes

“When you look at it and talk about playing in the BEBL, winning a championship is always challenging.  The entire season was me with a lot of issues and challenges. So, whenever you win that championship, it makes the win so much sweeter. So, we did a lot of activities this week. We met with the ministers, we also had our awards ceremony and of course today we are having our fourth motorcade. This championship is for the Belize district. Hurricanes represent the entire district, over a hundred and add thousand people when you talk about professional basketball. So, the motorcade is going to go through the principal streets of Belize. We will be making a lot of noise. We have about five hundred, forty add cars.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Perhaps you are not thinking about it as yet, but how do we go back to the drawing board in the off season and try to retain some of these same players and go to a back-to-back-to-back championship?”

 

Gilbert Gordon

“The reason why Hurricanes win championships is because we are forward thinkers. We don’t wait for the appropriate times in regard to be able to try to get players. We are very proactive. So, we have signed some key players already. We have already spoken to our players we have right now to resign them. So, we are all the way up the road in rebuilding and ensuring we have another championship in 2025.”

 

And finally, for tonight, the National Futsal League of Belize hosted an international futsal tournament over the weekend in Orange Walk. The tournament saw teams from across the region, including Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador and two teams from Belize. At the end of the weekend-long tournament, Honduras secured the gold medal. El Salvador won silver, while the Belmopan Futsal Club won the bronze medal.

 

 

Well folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.