Swinging Sakisat slugging away in the SSA

Mel Sakisat knows his way around the softball field like Santa Claus knows his way around a rooftop, and he has been proving it all year long in the Saipan Softball Association’s 2004 SSA Men’s Island-Wide Slow-Pitch Softball League.

The season is winding down, and his Bud Light squad has been among the top teams thanks in part to his dominance at the plate.

As of Saturday, Oct. 16, no one has crossed the plate more times (31), cranked out more homeruns (18), or knocked in more runners (63) than Sakisat, and his 37-for-45 performance at the plate earned him a .822 batting average that is good enough for fourth in the league.

Teammate Craig Sanchez is also having a great year, going 27-for-34 for a .794 average, six doubles and 25 plate crossings. The duo has made a huge contribution to the 7-2 Bud Light team that also features league leader Mario Sablan with seven triples and 29 runs scored. Sablan is tied with teammate Stan Laniyo for second in runs scored.

While Sakisat and Sanchez have helped their team to a third place rank in the standings, the hitter with the highest overall average is on a squad that is playing under .500 ball. Robert Bansil of Buddzz has gone 18-for-20 at the plate to lead the league with an incredible .900 batting average.

Just behind Bansil is John Reyes of La Chai with a .852 in second place. Reyes owns a piece of the plate, going 23-for-27 with a trio of triples. Much like Bansil, Reyes is playing the role of a standout player on a losing team. At 2-6, La Chai has a better record than only three teams.

At 7-1, the Eliminators are on the other end of the spectrum, and they also have a standout slugger in Jonathan Delos Santos. Together with brother Jerome, the DLS Express has delivered a victory in all but one match. Jonathan is third in the league with a .826 batting average, and brother Jerome is tied for fourth place with six doubles. Teammate Roy Celis rules the doubles category with eight.

Tony Luzama of the 4-4 Island Mix is no stranger to slugging, as his 22-for-28 .786 at the plate is good enough for sixth in the league, but the performance by Payton Sakuma of the 6-3 Brotherhood is a bit more complete.

While Sakuma’s .781 average is lower than Luzama’s, he is tied for fourth in the league with 25 runs scored, tied for second in the league for homers with 15, trails only Sakisat for runs batted in with 39. Sakuma is joined by teammate Gloyd Martin on the Top 10 list, as Martin has gone 23-fir-31 at the plate for a .742 average.

In eighth place is Hector Efrain of the 8-0 Freedom Air Flyers with a .759 batting average. Efrain has gone 22-for-29 at the plate to aid his squad of undefeated aviators, while Nick Castro of the 6-2 Natibu is just a percentage point behind at .758.

Castro has connected in 25-of-33 at bats, and is part of the three-way tie for fourth place in the doubles category with six.