Sports

Comets put it on SAC

The rivalry between the Queen's College Comets and the St. Augustine's College (SAC) Big Red Machine was in full display on Monday night, and this time, it would be the Comets coming out on top. The Comets are back-to-back senior boys baseball champions in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS), winning the first two baseball titles ever in that school body. They did it in thrilling fashion, defeating SAC, 10-7, at the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium on Monday night. QC won the series two games to one, reigning supreme as the only senior boys baseball champion in the BAISS, as the sport was just introduced in the private schools sector in New Providence last year. "It's a thrill to win the first two titles," said Comets' Head Coach Willard Elliott. "We fought hard, and we came out on top. Credit to SAC for giving us a fight, but my boys just wanted it more. It feels good, and next year, we are going for three in a row." There is no Most Valuable Player (MVP), but the Comets need to look no further than ace pitcher Austin Cartwright, who was certainly the most impactful player in the series. Cartwright won two of the three games in the series, including going all seven innings last night to lead the Comets to victory. He gave up just five hits and struck out 10 batters Monday night. With the Big Red Machine mounting a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, Cartwright sent the pennant winners home by striking out the final two batters of the game. "It feels awesome. I'm happy with the win, but I feel like I could have done a bit better," said Cartwright. "I feel like I shouldn't have given up as many hits as I did, but we pulled it off, so I'm thankful for that." Cartwright was masterful, and he was the first to give credit to his team for backing him up. His battery mate was his twin brother Blake, and collectively, they didn't yield a single wild pitch - something that plagued the Comets in the first game of the series last week Wednesday. Offensively for the Comets, Kamron Henfield got on base four times and scored three runs. Winning pitcher Austin Cartwright led off for them, and scored twice. Batting near the bottom of the lineup, Denard Gray also scored twice for the Comets. Carmelo Woodside started the game from the mound for SAC and suffered the loss. Neil Laing came on in relief and struggled to find the strike zone. Nathan Marshall pitched the seventh inning for SAC, and worked out of a bases loaded jam with no outs by fanning the last two batters he faced, but it was too little too late for them. Cartwright went back to work in the bottom of the seventh for QC, and after walking two batters and giving up an infield hit, he induced a fly ball to right field and struck out the final two batters he faced. "I wasn't getting tired at all," said Cartwright after pitching all seven innings. "I just feel like I wasn't getting some of the calls that I should have gotten. That's how it goes sometimes. I'm just glad I was able to settle down when I needed to and get the outs when I needed to." Comets' Head Coach Elliott had nothing but praise for his workhorse winning pitcher. "He's the MVP for us without a shadow of a doubt," said Elliott. "He led us tonight, and we followed. I just told them I needed 100 percent effort, and once they did that, we would be all right. Our problem all year was we weren't hitting and we were making too many errors. We're coming back next year for three in a row. You have to come through us again." SAC's top two batters Neil Gibson and Kaylin Ferguson scored twice each for them. They also big hits from Woodside, clean-up batter Nicholas Fox and Jude Taylor. "We had some miscues and a couple errors that really caused us," said SAC's Head Coach Geno Nairn. "We fought hard. Last year, we weren't in the playoffs and this year we made it to the last game of the season. We came a long way, and I'm proud of the boys. We'll be back next year. Congratulations to the Comets. I think our batters were a little anxious. We out-hit QC, but errors and being too anxious at the plate caused us. That's baseball and we'll bounce back." The Comets got on the scoreboard first, scoring twice in the top of the first inning. After SAC bounced back with two runs in the bottom of the first, the Comets responded with a run in the top of the second inning, and three in the top of the third. SAC scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to pull to within 6-4. The Comets got one of those runs back in the top of the fourth and plated three in the top of the fifth. SAC scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, but could get just one run the rest of the way as the Comets closed the door on them. The Comets won the first game of the series, 20-11, in nine innings last week Wednesday, and SAC responded by taking the second game, 14-3, on Friday night. In a winner-take-all game last night, it would be the Comets who would come out on top. The Comets also won the BAISS senior girls softball title, finishing off SAC in a two game sweep last week Thursday. SAC took the junior girls softball title, sweeping the Comets two games to none. Once again, the St. Anne's Blue Waves are the BAISS junior boys' baseball champions. They swept the Comets two games to none, to win their second consecutive BAISS junior boys' baseball championship. The Blue Waves junior boys and the Comets senior boys are the only baseball champions in the BAISS, as the sport just came on stream in the private schools in New Providence last year.

SHELDON LONGLEY Guardian Sports Editor • November 18, 2025

The rivalry between the Queen's College Comets and the St. Augustine's College (SAC) Big Red Machine was in full display on Monday night, and this time, it would be the Comets coming out on top.

The Comets are back-to-back senior boys baseball champions in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS), winning the first two baseball titles ever in that school body. They did it in thrilling fashion, defeating SAC, 10-7, at the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium on Monday night. QC won the series two games to one, reigning supreme as the only senior boys baseball champion in the BAISS, as the sport was just introduced in the private schools sector in New Providence last year.

"It's a thrill to win the first two titles," said Comets' Head Coach Willard Elliott. "We fought hard, and we came out on top. Credit to SAC for giving us a fight, but my boys just wanted it more. It feels good, and next year, we are going for three in a row."

There is no Most Valuable Player (MVP), but the Comets need to look no further than ace pitcher Austin Cartwright, who was certainly the most impactful player in the series. Cartwright won two of the three games in the series, including going all seven innings last night to lead the Comets to victory. He gave up just five hits and struck out 10 batters Monday night. With the Big Red Machine mounting a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, Cartwright sent the pennant winners home by striking out the final two batters of the game.

"It feels awesome. I'm happy with the win, but I feel like I could have done a bit better," said Cartwright. "I feel like I shouldn't have given up as many hits as I did, but we pulled it off, so I'm thankful for that."

Cartwright was masterful, and he was the first to give credit to his team for backing him up. His battery mate was his twin brother Blake, and collectively, they didn't yield a single wild pitch - something that plagued the Comets in the first game of the series last week Wednesday.

Offensively for the Comets, Kamron Henfield got on base four times and scored three runs. Winning pitcher Austin Cartwright led off for them, and scored twice. Batting near the bottom of the lineup, Denard Gray also scored twice for the Comets.

Carmelo Woodside started the game from the mound for SAC and suffered the loss. Neil Laing came on in relief and struggled to find the strike zone. Nathan Marshall pitched the seventh inning for SAC, and worked out of a bases loaded jam with no outs by fanning the last two batters he faced, but it was too little too late for them.

Cartwright went back to work in the bottom of the seventh for QC, and after walking two batters and giving up an infield hit, he induced a fly ball to right field and struck out the final two batters he faced.

"I wasn't getting tired at all," said Cartwright after pitching all seven innings. "I just feel like I wasn't getting some of the calls that I should have gotten. That's how it goes sometimes. I'm just glad I was able to settle down when I needed to and get the outs when I needed to."

Comets' Head Coach Elliott had nothing but praise for his workhorse winning pitcher.

"He's the MVP for us without a shadow of a doubt," said Elliott. "He led us tonight, and we followed. I just told them I needed 100 percent effort, and once they did that, we would be all right. Our problem all year was we weren't hitting and we were making too many errors. We're coming back next year for three in a row. You have to come through us again."

SAC's top two batters Neil Gibson and Kaylin Ferguson scored twice each for them. They also big hits from Woodside, clean-up batter Nicholas Fox and Jude Taylor.

"We had some miscues and a couple errors that really caused us," said SAC's Head Coach Geno Nairn. "We fought hard. Last year, we weren't in the playoffs and this year we made it to the last game of the season. We came a long way, and I'm proud of the boys. We'll be back next year. Congratulations to the Comets. I think our batters were a little anxious. We out-hit QC, but errors and being too anxious at the plate caused us. That's baseball and we'll bounce back."

The Comets got on the scoreboard first, scoring twice in the top of the first inning. After SAC bounced back with two runs in the bottom of the first, the Comets responded with a run in the top of the second inning, and three in the top of the third.

SAC scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to pull to within 6-4. The Comets got one of those runs back in the top of the fourth and plated three in the top of the fifth. SAC scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, but could get just one run the rest of the way as the Comets closed the door on them.

The Comets won the first game of the series, 20-11, in nine innings last week Wednesday, and SAC responded by taking the second game, 14-3, on Friday night. In a winner-take-all game last night, it would be the Comets who would come out on top.

The Comets also won the BAISS senior girls softball title, finishing off SAC in a two game sweep last week Thursday. SAC took the junior girls softball title, sweeping the Comets two games to none.

Once again, the St. Anne's Blue Waves are the BAISS junior boys' baseball champions. They swept the Comets two games to none, to win their second consecutive BAISS junior boys' baseball championship.

The Blue Waves junior boys and the Comets senior boys are the only baseball champions in the BAISS, as the sport just came on stream in the private schools in New Providence last year.

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