Hustlers, Tanapag beat rain to earn wins

Hustlers and Tanapag scored big wins in Marpi over the weekend while the rest of Saipan was singing in the rain, as the Saipan Major League’s Fall edition continued to thrill on Sunday morning at the Kan Pacific Baseball Field.

The Hustlers racked up their third victory of the season after rallying from a 3-2 deficit to sink the Pirates 5-3, while the team from Tanapag finally broke into the win column by downing the D-9ers, 10-2.

The likenesses end there as the Hustlers are tied for first atop the SML Fall with the Pirates at 3-1, and they earned a share of the lead by scoring five runs off of eight hits to win in come from behind fashion.

After taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Hustlers offense cooled as they were unable to connect with the ball until they were trailing 3-2 in the top of the sixth when clutch-hitting third baseman Manny Sablan gave them their first base runner since Jester Garcia reached first on an error in the fourth.

Garcia drove in Sablan to tie the game at three apiece and catcher Pat Alepuyo doubled in Dane Lizama for the eventual game winner for the first of his two runs batted in. Alepuyo earned his second two innings later when he knocked in Sablan for insurance in the top of the eighth to increase the lead to 5-3.

Alepuyo finished the game 2-for-4 with a single, double and two RBIs, while Sablan went 2-for-4 with a single, double, and three scores. Hustlers pitchers combined to allow a pair of runs off of eight hits in the nine-inning affair as starter Byron Kaipat gave up three runs off of four hits while Jonathan Camacho went the final four innings without surrendering a run off of four hits and fanning five.

There was more of the same exciting action in the afternoon game as Tanapag dropped 10 runs on the D-9ers off of 11 hits in a hurry by laying the lumber and taking advantage of their opponent’s miscues.

Tanapag made the most of the D-9ers donations by converting five of their six walks into runs—four of which came amidst a four run fourth inning.

Fancy-haired first baseman Nunu Kapileo led all sluggers with a solid 3-for-5 performance at the plate with three singles and two runs batted in for Tanapag, while teammate Clint Quitugua went 2-for-4 with a double, a single, and a run batted in.

Tanapag broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third to take a 2-0 advantage and added three in the fourth when Mike Taitano drove in Byron San Nicolas and Jun Camacho to give his team a 5-0 lead.

San Nicolas drove in Quitugua in his next at bat in the fifth inning to put Tanapag up 6-0 before they exploded for four runs off of one hit in the seventh to put the cap on their scoring for the day.