Pirates pillage Aces with 9th inning blast

By SHAN SEMAN

Staff Reporter

The Marpac Pirates are the hottest team in baseball as they posted their fifth straight victory with a come-from-behind 9-7 win over the UMDA Aces last Monday at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.

With the win, the Pirates now lead the Miller Light Brewers by half a game in the fight for the pennant crown.

The Aces were in command of the game as they scored 2 runs in both the second and fifth innings to take a 4-1 lead.

However, the game took a dramatic turn in the top of the eighth inning as the Pirates, who were held scoreless for 6 innings, erupted for 3 runs to tie the game, highlighted by a 2-run homerun by slugger Peter Tomokane.

Mario Sablan led off the inning by reaching base courtesy of an Aces error, and later scored on an RBI double by Jeff Diaz. With Diaz on second base, Tomokane stepped up to the plate and greeted Aces pitcher John Paul Flores with a shot over the fence for his first homerun of the season. Flores would then settle down and retire the next three batters to get out of the inning.

In the top of the ninth inning, veteran pitcher Elmer Sablan came in relief for Flores in an attempt to shut down the sizzling bats of the Pirates. It came to no avail though, as the Pirates erupted for 5 runs to take a 9-4 lead.

Sakarias Igisomar, who reached base on another costly error by the Aces, started the scoring spree as he crossed home plate on a sharp single by Mario Sablan. Diaz would then drive in Tyron Attao and Sablan with another double, and later scored on a throwing error by Aces second baseman Phil Celis. Tomokane would also score in the inning for another insurance run.

The Aces went on to score 3 more runs in the bottom half of the inning, but it wasn’t enough as the Pirates managed to run away with the victory.

Tomokane had an outstanding performance at the plate as he went 3-for-5 with a homerun, a double, 3 runs scored, and 2 runs batted in. Diaz also had a solid outing with a 2-for-4 performance with 2 doubles, 2 runs, a walk and 3 RBIs.

Frank Pangelinan and Tony Celis led the way for the Aces as they posted an identical 2-for-4 performance. They both scored and drove in a run. Phil Celis went 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored in a losing effort.

The Brewers have a chance to tie the Pirates on top of the league standings as they square off against the Kautz Glass Glazers tonight.