St. Maarten's Jasmin Halley was named Best Outfielder of the tournament.
PHILIPSBURG—St. Maarten’s Under-12 Girls Softball team produced its best international showing to date, advancing to the semifinals of a tournament in Guánica, Puerto Rico, after improving on last year’s performance. Last year, they did not make it out of the preliminary rounds.
The participating teams this year were St. Maarten, Guánica, Puerto Rico, Guayama, Puerto Rico, Brazil (Cantareira Little League, Mexico (Petrolera Little League) and Curaçao (Soraida Juliana Little League).
The young ladies from St. Maarten opened the tournament in impressive fashion with a 6-1 victory over host Guánica, powered by a strong pitching display from Raschelly Salomé and timely batting that set the tone for the competition.
St. Maarten followed that up with another important win against Mexico in a crossover match to secure a place in the semifinals. Kayleigh Heinze delivered an excellent performance in the pitching circle, keeping Mexico scoreless through the first three innings as St. Maarten built an early advantage. Although Mexico rallied late, the St. Maarten girls held their composure to close out the nervy victory 6-5.
The team’s unbeaten run ended against Brazil in its final preliminary game. After falling behind early, St. Maarten fought back to level the scores, but a handful of defensive errors proved costly as Brazil edged out the victory despite another solid pitching effort from T’iana Beauperthuy this time. St. Maarten lost 3-6.
St. Maarten then faced Guayama, Puerto Rico, in the semifinals. Salomé once again led the effort in the circle, but Guayama capitalized on its opportunities to book a place in the championship game, ending St. Maarten’s impressive tournament run. The final score was 6-2 in favour of Guayama.
Despite missing out on the title, the semifinal finish represented a significant achievement for the developing softball programme and highlighted the continued progress of the island’s young players on the international stage.
The delegation was led by Elmora Aventurin Pantophlet and included Manager Fabiana Beauperthuy Richardson, Head Coach Dimitri Beauperthuy, Pitching Coach Randall Salomé and Trainer Debbie Van de Kolk, whose preparation and guidance were credited for the team’s strong performance.
Several St. Maarten players also earned individual honours. Jasmin Halley received a Best Outfielder Award, while Radhika Gurbaxani Pinedo, Beauperthuy and Halley were recognized as the team’s Best Batters.
The full team that traveled to Puerto Rico was #1 Nehaila Jederon, #2 Mak'aya Ortega, #3 Saceerdra Vlaun, #4 T'iana Beauperthuy, #5 Raschelly Salome, #6 O'ceane Beauperthuy, #7 Kiyona Ryner, #8 Radhika Gurbaxani Pinedo, #9 Erika Morales, #10 Dijaelee Servania, #11 Jasmine Halley , #12 Kayleigh Heinze, #13 Kimaya Anselm and #14 N'Hailey Dasent.
