Ol’Aces remain undefeated

Jeremy Lizama of the Ol’Aces pitched a no-hitter against male batters in the Little Lions’ lineup, while a female batter went 1-for-2 and scored a run against him.

Sporting a knitted long hair, Lizama just shook his head and smiled after that.

But Catalina Dela Cruz’s run was the best that the Little Lions could do against Lizama’s outstanding performance at the mound, as the Ol’Aces roared to a 17-1 win via a mercy rule and stretched their winning run to six in the Major Division of the 2009 Saipan Little League at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Ballpark.

The southpaw Lizama struck out 12 of 18 who went at bat, grounded out three, walked two, and gave up only a hit from Dela Cruz in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Lizama then went 4-for-4, including a RBI triple in the first, a three-run homer over the centerfield fence in the third and a RBI single in the fifth.

It was his third homer of the season, one short of the Dragons’ Jonathan Cabrera, who is leading the league in home runs with four.

Lizama is currently No. 1 in ERA with 0.36, with one error in 16.2 innings he pitched and is leading in strikeouts, too, with 38 as of March 15. He now has 50 after Saturday’s game.

Cabrera was at second with 48. He went 2-for-3 and had 13 strikeouts against IT&E.

Lizama was running fifth in batting percentage by averaging .500. He was 6-for-12 at bat, excluding his 4-for-4 stint against the Little Lions.

With some help from a festive dugout, cheering every teammate at bat, a total of six Ol’Aces batters reached home plate twice—Oscar Setefano, Virgil Secharmidal, Lizama, Virolanson Secharmidal, Jessie Brel, and Aghilimal Faisao.

Leadoff batter Jerome Reyes Jr. made the team’s first run right in top of the first inning, while four others had one each—Michael Muna in second, Keola Camacho and Austin Piteg in third, and Zackery Yamagishi in fifth.

It was in the third and the seventh inning that Ol’Aces went into scoring spree on a string of fielding errors and wild pitches by the Little Lions, who suffered their second defeat in six games.

The Little Lions’ three pitchers, Jun Malite, Justin Santos, and Jess Santos, combined for two strikeouts and gave up nine base on balls and nine hits.

In her first at bat in the bottom of the first inning, Dela Cruz found her target, but she was grounded out at first base. In his second stint at the plate, she hit another grounder that passed close to the pitcher’s left foot on a no-out 1-1 count. She stole second and third then reached home on a wild pitch.

Ol’Aces team manager Elmer John D. Sablan lauded the boys for their team effort.

“The pitcher was awesome. The catcher was awesome. This team had been practicing since October and it’s paying off. Our morale is high,” Sablan said.

Sablan feels they have a good chance for the title, especially with three-time defending champion Patriots moving up to the Juniors Division.

Finishing third last year, the Ol’Aces look forward to their meeting against two strong teams—the Dragons and the Jets—whom they will meet on April 5 and May 9, respectively.
[B] Hustlers 21, Shell 1[/B]

The Hustlers beat Shell, 21-1, and rolled to their third straight win for a 5-1 card. The Ol’Aces handed the Hustlers their lone.

All of the Hustlers’ nine batters went at bat twice in the bottom of the second inning, scoring 13 from there alone to take the game away after four and a half innings.

Coby Kaipat and Ray Saralu went 4-for-4 with four runs each to lead the Hustlers.

Shell took a 1-0 lead on the lone run by Logan Martin in the top of the second inning before the Hustlers had their scoring binge.
[B] Dragons 10, IT&E 0[/B]

Earlier in the day, the Dragons stamped their class over IT&E, 10-0, to make-up from a loss in their previous game.

Homerun leader Jonathan Cabrera hit his fourth of the year, while Jerald Cabrera followed suit with another HR in the fifth, sealing the Dragons’ win via a 10-run mercy rule.

Cabrera, who is currently in second in ERA with his 0.40, had 13 strikeouts, allowed four hits, and walked two.
[B] Braves 20, Athletics 7[/B]

Tanapag Braves are also on the rampage, clinching their fourth straight win by pummeling Century A’s with 20 hits, 10 walks, and 14 RBIs en route to a 20-7 win in five innings.

The Braves, who lost their first two games of the season, got big games from KJ Kalen, who went 5-for-5 with five runs, and three RBIs; JJ Lifoifoi (4-for-5 with 4 runs and 1 RBI); and Francisco Lieto (5-for-5, 3 runs, 1 RBI).