Saipan takes early lead in district tournament

LIYUG FIELD, ROTA—Parents, players, and fans gathered in the village of Songsong as the top Little Leaguers from the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota opened up the round-robin portion of the CNMI Little League District Tournament with a bang yesterday.

After the Presentation of the Colors by the Rota High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, hearing from representatives from the Rota Mayor’s Office, the 10th Rota Municipal Council, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, and Rota Little League president Crispin Ogo, the teams from Tinian and Rota squared off in a thrilling tournament opener.

The Rota Little League All-Stars jumped out to a 9-1 lead after one and a half innings before the Tinian tykes shook off their propeller lag and rallied to score four runs in each of the second and third innings to knot the game at nine apiece after three complete.

The tying run came when catcher-turned-second baseman Bernardo Tumed smacked an inside-the-park, three-run home that drove in Juan Cabrera and Joey Manglona.

Rota regained the lead in their next at bat, albeit briefly when catcher Aleton Mesngon crossed home plate, but Tinian answered with three runs off of three hits in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good, 12-10.

Each squad scored a run in the fifth inning, and Rota closed to within one run of tying the game before Tinian finally closed the door in the top of the sixth to end the contest.

Tumed finished the game with a solid 3-for-4 performance at the plate that included a pair of singles, an inside-the-park homerun, four runs batted in and four runs scored, while Cabrera was a perfect 3-for-3 with a pair of singles, a double, racked up four runs batted in and scored twice for Tinian.

The win may have come too soon for Saipan’s closest neighbors, though as they were unable to fulfill the “Must Play” rule which states that each player must play three outs in the field and have at least one at bat.

Rota manager Luis Mesa filed a protest as three Tinian players failed to get their mandatory at bats, and District Administrator James Ada contacted the protest committee in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

“I already talked to Pat Wilson (tournament protest committee review board member) and he wanted to see it in black and white before making a decision,” said Ada.

The results of the protest were unavailable as of press time.

Saipan 31, Tinian 4

The Tinian squad didn’t fare as well in their second outing as their neighboring island hand-delivered a 31-run salute to their pitching staff yesterday off of 22 hits through the mercy-rule shortened affair.

After opening the game with a 6-0 lead in the top of the first, Saipan returned in the top of the second to score 14 runs off of 10 hits to take a commanding 20-0 lead. Every player in the line-up crossed the plate in the second inning before the at bat ended, but Tinian added to the melee by serving up five walks.

Saipan returned in the third to power four more runs across the plate, in which slugger Eric Tenorio sent a ball over the fence to instantly add three more to the total.

Tenorio finished the game 4-for-5 with three singles to accompany his long ball, as well as six runs batted in and three stolen bases.

As with any baseball team that scores 31 runs in a game, Saipan had a number of players with big-time performances. Nokkie Lizama went 4-for-5 with a single, two doubles, a triple, and three runs batted in, while catcher Esebei Arurang went a perfect 3-for-3 with three singles and two ribbies. Arurang also stole a pair of bases and scored four times to lead Saipan to its first win of the tournament.

Saipan 21, Rota 0

Pitcher Chris Meyers was nearly flawless in Saipan’s return to the diamond, as he hurled his squad to its second win with a hitless shutout over the tournament hosts in front of a packed house.

Were it not for Luta right fielder Josh Lizama drawing ball four in the bottom of the second inning, Meyers would have thrown a perfect game—albeit in an abbreviated four-inning affair.

The talented two-way player fanned eight of the 13 batters he faced, and the four who managed to make contact with the ball managed just three grounders and an infield fly. Meyers fittingly ended the game with a throw to first that followed quick reaction to a grounder that came his way.

The winning pitcher said that his fastball was working the best for him, and that while he had a successful day, his opponents didn’t make it easy for him.

“It was fun, but those guys from Rota gave me a hard time,” he said.

The Saipan squad continued to build upon the momentum gathered from their quick start in the district tourney by pounding Rota for 21 runs off of 19 hits through four innings before the umpires invoked the 10-run mercy rule.

Aside from Meyers’ domination on the mound, the hurler swung the stick with ease as well by hitting 2-for-4 with two base knocks and a run batted in.

Saipan got the win from an outpouring of offense from the likely sources that included their shortstop Nokkie Lizama, who went 3-for-4 with three doubles, five runs batted inn, and four scores. Third baseman John Maratita didn’t miss an opportunity at the plate as he was a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of singles, two runs batted in, an d a plate crossing.