Beacons 3peat as National Softball Champs

Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. The Beacons are your 2024 National Women’s Softball Champions. They displayed championship stamina, playing four games back-to-back, including the championship match. They worked their way out of the losers’ circle and brought down the tournament’s undefeated team, the Belize Bank Bulldogs, to secure a three-peat.

The sun had set, and the lights came on inside the Sand Hill Softball stadium. The Belize Bank Bulldogs were undefeated and one win away from securing the 2024 Championship. Their opponents, defending champions Beacons, were outperformed during the tournament and so they had to claw their way back to the top. They came into this one after two back-to-back winning games. But their journey was far from over. Beacons would have to win this one and force and final game. This is the bottom of the first inning. The Bulldogs have two outs and a chance to lead the game with a runner on third. A massive swing sends the ball into left field. And that is a beautiful catch by Dianelli Wade to end the inning.

 

At the top of the second inning, Mexican Esthela Segovia is up to bat for Beacons. Segovia connects the first pitch of the inning. That one goes and goes and its out of the park for a homerun. She takes her celebratory lap and the dugout erupts in excitement. At the top of the third, the Bulldogs’ catcher and pitcher are alert as Arneek Roland tries to steal second base. Sharette Vernon came from behind her with a massive hit into left field thar puts her at second base.  The Bulldogs were able to hold them off in that inning. There is a runner on second at the top of the third, Bulldogs’ number nine inside the batter’s box. She hits just inside the line towards right field and there goes Renisha Richards sprinting towards the home plate. It’s a very close call and the umpire calls that one safe. The game is now tied at one run a piece.

 

Let’s fast forward this one to the top of the sixth inning where the game is still tied at one run each. Beacons had two outs, no runners on base. Their pitcher, Mexican Alejandra Vasquez is up to bat. She has two strikes. Vasquez connects and that one goes all the way out of the park. A second homerun for Beacons. The defending champions held off the Bulldogs for the rest of the match and forced a second and final game. The grand finale began at ten p.m. on a Sunday night. Fans were still out and so were some of the children that were preparing for their return to school on Monday.

 

We are at the bottom of the second, Beacons are up to bat.  Shadelle Ho inside the batter’s box with two strikes as a runner on third. Clean hit directly to the shortstop. Arneek Roland makes it home and Ho gets on first base. He’s now on third. Esthela Segovia on first and Vasquez up to bat. Segovia goes for the second base steal. The ball hits her helmet and Ho sprints to the home plate. That’s two runs for Beacons. Beacons is still in the lead with two runs at the top of the fourth. Ashley Lucas is up to bat for the Bulldogs with a runner on first. Lucas with a hit into center field. The catch is fumbled and number two, Hilton ran across the home plate safe. One run for Bulldogs.

 

Kelsey Robinson up to bat. She hits a ground ball into left field. Lucas secures the second run for Bulldogs to tie the game.The game remained tied at the bottom of the fifth inning. Runners on first and third base for Beacons. Sharette Vernon bunts. The pitcher glanced at third base and overthrows to first. A huge error that sends Lynesse Alvarez and Arneek Roland home for two runs. The Bulldogs are trailing by two at the top of the sixth. 6:25 Here, runners on first and second. Joline Davis is inside the batter’s box. Davis hits a powerful ground ball into left field. Pinch runner Bood makes it home and gives Bulldogs a fighting chance.

 

Kelsey Robinson with a massive hit only shy of a few inches from being a homerun. That hit brought in the fourth runner to tie the game. Down to the last inning, the Bulldogs were unable to make any runs in the top of the seventh. Beacons were left with an opportunity to close out the season with one run.  Runners on first and second. Mexican Esthela Segovia up to bat. Segovia hits a ground ball into center field. Sharette Vernon, with her coach behind her, sprinted to the home plate, securing the run that would give Beacon the 2024 Championship. Watch as she gets dogpiled at home plate. Fireworks went off. Beacons with the three-peat. Beacons also took home six individual awards, including the MVP award.

 

Let’s wrap up this week’s installment of Sports Monday with some highlights from this weekend’s Williams Dawson Sprite Basketball Tournament. This one is between Survivor Ballers and Lords Bank Warriors.Some quick stats for you here. The first quarter ended with Survivor Ballers in the lead, seven points to three. The Lord Bank Warriors came back in the second quarter with a much different mindset and outscored the Ballers by three points to bring the game with one point at the half. The third quarter was near even in scoring. Survivor Ballers scored eleven points and Lords Bank Warriors scored ten points. The third ended with the Ballers in the lead with twenty-six points to the Warriors’ twenty-four. In the end, Survivor Ballers took home the victory with forty-five points to Lords Bank Warrior’s forty-one points. As a reminder, the William Dawson Sprite Basketball Tournament was established to unite rivaling communities through the discipline.

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