Rangers mangle Mets,15-3

The Ford Rangers shifted their offense into high gear on Monday night as they rolled to a 15-3 mashing of the San Antonio Metropolitans at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field in the continuation of the 2005 season of the Saipan Major League.

The Ford nine never trailed in the eight inning contest, as they took the lead in the first and never looked back, thanks to a combination of quality pitching and clutch hitting.

Winning pitcher Norman Tenorio went the distance for the trucks, as the hurler surrendered three runs off of 10 hits and fanned six through eight innings before the umpires invoked the 10-run mercy rule.

By the time the first San Antonian crossed the plate, the Rangers were already in control of the game with a healthy 12-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Ford squad finished with 15 runs off of 15 hits, but were the beneficiaries of five walks and five errors at the plate. They turned three of the walks into runs, and four of the Rangers who reached base via error eventually scored as well.

The Mets scored another couple of runs in the bottom of the seventh to stave off elimination, but the Rangers racked up three more in the top of the eighth for the final scores of the game.

Right fielder J.J. Laniyo led the charge for the Rangers with two singles, a double, a run batted in, and a plate crossing to finish 3-for-4 on the night, while catcher Craig Sanchez finished 3-for-4 with a pair of base knocks, a double, two runs scored, and an RBI.

Josh Muña initially entered the game as a pinch runner, but picked up the bat to finish 2-for-3 with a single, a triple, two runs batted in, and a stolen base for the Rangers.

With the win the Rangers improved their record to 5-1 and moved to within a half game of undefeated Northern Yankees (5-0) in first place.

Sanchez was the first to get the Rangers on the scoreboard when he crossed the plate in the top of the second inning when Jerome Delos Santos brought him in with a sac fly to center.

The fearsome Ford-some continued their drive in the top the third behind Muña, Joey Dela Cruz, and Fred Kaipat. Kaipat scored the eventual game wining run when he stole home.

The hits kept coming in the top of the fourth, as the Rangers scored three runs off of four hits to gain a 7-0 advantage, and blew the game out of the water with a five-run fifth.