‘The future of baseball is bright’

After the youngsters of the Junior Nationals team stuck around until the end and fought an all-star packed and seasoned Cardinals roster in the 2023 Tan Holdings-Saipan Baseball League three-game championship series, it’s safe to say that the future of baseball in the CNMI is bright.

The last time the U17 Junior Nationals played any competitive baseball was when they were just 12-year-olds in the local Little League program, and to make it all the way to the championships, according one of their coaches, John Peter Sablan, was nothing short of remarkable.

About their two championship games against the Cardinals, Sablan said, “They’re a tough team. They’re all stars from the first to the ninth batter. I fought my best with my boys—they did good and I’m proud of them—I love my team.”

He added, “We made a couple mistakes, but we’ll clean that up in practice. It’s their first time to be in a championship game… and they made it this far. So, I’m proud of them no matter what. Errors don’t bother me because I know what they’re capable of.”

“We were so close, but they were the better team tonight,” he said of their final game.

J.R. Suel, the league’s No. 2 batting leader with an average of .500 flat from 13 hits of 26 at-bats, said after the game, “The season was great.”

Even ranked No. 2, he said he had his ups and downs throughout the season, but he just kept himself up no matter what and worked as a team because “teamwork makes the dreamwork.”

When asked how he felt challenging the undefeated Cardinals team, he said “we lost, but I’m still proud of my team. We gave them a challenge and held them down and we were pretty close.”

The 17-year-old incoming Kagman High School senior then thanked his family, his team, and his coaches for their support and the great season.

The season’s batting champ, the Cardinals’ Nokki Saralu, said that the future of baseball is looking bright. After facing off with the Junior Nationals, he said “these guys were competitive and they’ve been practicing hard. The chemistry is there, they just need to work a little bit more and grow because they’re still young and have a lot more work to do.”

As for the Cardinals head coach Juan Demapan, he said of the Junior Nationals team, “they’re moving up. They’re still young and are a really good team. All they need is mental toughness for the game.” 

The Junior Nationals finished the regular season tied second with the Falcons in the standings with a 7-3 win/loss record. The 2023 season had 11 teams that also included the CK Bears, Brewers, Blue Jays, Natives, Bandits, D-9er’s, Survivors, and Braves.