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CNMI Juniors drop opening contest 1-0
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Posted on Aug 16 2004
When the boys of the CNMI Junior League All-Star team departed Saipan for the Junior League Baseball World Series last week, they knew that there were going to be some differences in Taylor, MI and that they would need to adjust accordingly.
The Junior League All-Stars of the CNMI fell to the representatives of the Paraguana Little League in their first action of the Junior League World Series in heartbreaking fashion.
The representatives of the Pacific Region were on the losing end of a nail-biting 1-0 contest to the Latin American delegation. They will have a chance to redeem themselves on the field of play against the SHAPE/Waterloo Little League All-Stars from Belgium today.
Though they may appear to be in a tough situation, overcoming adversity is nothing new for the Junior Leaguers. On more than one occasion in the Regional Tournament on Guam, the squad of determined youngsters rose to the challenges presented before them and emerged victorious.
After engineering amazing comebacks in the Regionals, Manager of the Junior Leaguers Sonny Flores shared some of the philosophy that brought home the championship banner.
“Practice hard and never say die. Even though you’re behind, you have got to have intensity toward the end of the inning. Just don’t flat out and die because you’re behind. Keep on fighting.”
That’s the kind of advice that Flores and Coach Ray Sablan should use to remind Jesse Borja, Shane Yamada, Jesus Iguel, Vince Sablan, Martin Pangelinan, Josh Arriola, Joe Salas, Thorn Sablan, Ryan Ada, Jonathan Salas, Kevin Babauta, Nicolas San Nicolas, Nunu Kapileo, and Juan Tenorio that they still have plenty of work to do before their second match of the tournament with Belgium.
The boys will be off tomorrow, and will meet the Canadian team from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on Wednesday at 5pm and on Thursday they play against the Paraguana Little League team from Punto Fijo, Venezuela.
The International Finals will be Friday, August 20 at 5pm, and the championship game between the USA and International finalists will be on Saturday, August 21 at 5pm.
As for the CNMI Senior League All Stars, they have yet to take the field in Bangor, Maine.
