POND ISLAND—St. Maarten Blue Jays dominated the three day long Rafel Skeete Caribbean Baseball Invitational at the Little League ballpark on Pond Island Sunday.
The tournament was open to athletes age 16-19 as a means to been scouting for playing college baseball. Three teams competed in the competition. In addition to the Blue Jays were the SXM All Stars and Team International featuring some players from the United States.
The Blue Jays flew into action Friday night with a 5-3 victory over the International Team. Julius King was the winning pitcher and Jaylon Constance was the Jays best batter going one for two.
All Stars beat international 5-4 in the second game of the competition. Rafael Gomez led the winning effort going two for three.
The Jays returned to the field to face the All Stars. Jays won 5-1 with Quincy Durand the winning pitcher. He also helped the team at the plate going two for four.
Internationals won a game. They beat the All Stars 8-7 to advance to the final against the Jays on Sunday.
Jays won the final 10-4. The winning pitcher was Anthony Marlin. The best batter was King. He went two for two with a pair of doubles.
The well-known St. Martin veteran baseball player Rafel Skeete organized the competition to provide a platform for young athletes to showcase their talents in front of US college recruiters and scouts,” said Dr. Rhoda Arrindell of the United Academy (UA) sports organization.
The UA provides “academic support for youngsters and prepares the prospects to meet the academic and other requirements to be accepted into college,” said Dr. Arrindell.
Making the competition possible were sponsors St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, the Department of Sports, Motorworld, Prime, KFC, Costpro, and Carl and Sons.
