Brewers spoil Tacoma debut in thriller

Dane Lizama’s sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the 13th inning sent designated hitter Ray Seman down the third base line and across home plate to lift the Miller Lite Brewers over the Toyota Tacoma for their second win of the 2005 edition of the Saipan Major League, 6-5, Wednesday night.

With the score tied at five runs apiece, Seman led off the bottom of the 13th inning with a double to get the Brewers their first hit since the ninth inning. From there, second baseman Phil Celis laid down a sac bunt to move Seman to third, and Mark Toves was plunked to give the Brew crew runners on the corners, before Lizama sent everyone at Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field home well past their bedtimes.

Toves led the charge for the Brewers batters, as the consistent centerfielder went 2-for-5 with a single, a double, and a run scored, while third baseman Tony Celis went 2-for-5 with a single, a double, a run batted in, and a stolen base.

After breaking out for four runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead 4-2, the Brewers scored their fifth run in the bottom of the second when Lizama crossed the plate courtesy of a Tony Celis single.

The blue and gold’s bats went frost for the next 10 innings before finally breaking through the ice in the bottom 13th. The Brewers scored their six runs off of nine hits in the marathon game, but it was their pitchers who helped them hold on until Lizama’s late-game heroics.

Jonathan Camacho and Byron Kaipat combined to allow Tacoma five runs off of 10 hits through 13 complete. Camacho did the lion’s share of the work, throwing 11 of the 13 innings, allowing five runs off of 10 hits before Kaipat came in to close the door with three strikeouts and no hits in the final two innings.

Camacho fanned eight batters and received plenty of assistance from his defense that pulled off four double plays. The young pitcher now leads all hurlers in the SML with 20.1 innings pitched in three games for the Brewers, while Kaipat upped his inning total to seven with his two-inning no-hit performance.

Lizama’s heroics may have ended the game for the Tacoma, but after a slow start, the new team went round for round with the defending champions until the waning moments. After taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when left fielder John Acosta and third baseman Tony Pangelinan crossed the plate for their first scores of the season, pitcher Jess Celis walked the first three batters he faced in the bottom of the inning to put the new team in an early hole.

The Brewers added another run in the bottom of the second to extend their lead to 5-2, but the Tacoma chipped away at the lead when catcher Mario Aguon stole home in the top of the fifth to make the score 5-3.

It became a brand new ballgame in the top of the eighth inning when Acosta crossed the plate for the second time in the contest, followed by former Brewer Ned Norita a batter later.

All of the action of the SML continues tonight, when the first place Ford Rangers take on the Bud Kings at Palacios Field at 6:30pm.