Shell Marianas sweeps way to crown

Shell Marianas won the Saipan leg of the 2008 Budweiser King and Queen of the Diamonds, sweeping past their opponents in the weekend tournament held at the Capital Hill Field near the Governor’s Office.

Shell Marianas, composed mostly of the former No Ka Oi team, capped their title sweep with a 10-4 win over Team Sai-Pal in yesterday’s finals.

Veterans Mel Sakisat and Jerry Ayuyu combined for 4-for-8 with two runs, to lead Shell Marianas’ five-game sweep of the tournament. The win earned them an automatic slot in October’s championship round where they would face the winners of the second and third rounds and the wild card team with the right to represent Saipan in the Palau finals at stake.

Sakisat also had a double, a triple, and an RBI while Ayuyu had two doubles. Ton Camacho went 3-for-4 with one run, a triple, and an RBI while Roy Celis went 2-for-4 with one run.

Julian Camacho and Ben Tagabuel combined for 4-for-6 with three runs. Tagabuel also had an RBI while J.J. Laniyo went 2-for-2 scoring one run to go with his two-RBI double.

Sakisat also pitched a complete game with all runs earned on 10 hits with a strikeout and two walks. He just forced Sai-Pal to hit grounders, line drives, and fly outs that was fielded cleanly by the Shell Marianas defense.

Shell Marianas also scored consecutive elimination round wins against Shell Made To Move, 15-3; Zamack Hao, 15-5; Jets, 13-3; and Sai-Pal, 6-5, having the luxury of waiting for their finals opponent.

Sai-Pal blanked Total Chaos, 12-0, edged Piligru 11-8, but lost to Shell Marianas, 6-5, dropping them in the losers’ bracket. They then scored an 8-2 win over Total Chaos to earn the right of facing Shell Marianas in the finals.

In other game results, Piligru pulled off a 7-4 win over Sufa, while the Jets downed Coral Reef Red Snapper, 7-3. Total Chaos nipped Shell Made To Move, 5-4, with Zamack Hao coasting to a 19-2 decision against Coral Reef Red Snapper.

Total Chaos earned their second win with a 23-5 crushing of Sufa then squeezed out a 12-11 victory against the Jets. Piligru tripped Zamack Hao, 6-2.

The second round of the Budweiser King and Queen of the Diamonds will be held on July 19 and 20 and the third and final round will be on Sept. 20 and 21. Winners of the three rounds will automatically qualify for the Saipan leg championship round in October.

The second and third place teams in each round will play in a single-elimination format in the consolation draw with the fourth and final spot in the championship round at stake. Teams need to play in two out of the three rounds in order to qualify for the wild card playoff.

The winner of the October championship round will automatically qualify for the finals in Koror, Palau, where they would get an all-expense paid trip to represent Saipan in the Budweiser King and Queen of the Diamonds finals in November.