Pirates take 2-0 lead in series

The Pirates took a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five SML Fall championship series with the Hustlers on Sunday when they foiled their foes 9-4 at the Kan Pacific Baseballs Field in Marpi.

The weekend got started off with a donation as the Pirates won the first game on Saturday afternoon in the way Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys took Fort Ticonderoga—without a shot—as the Hustlers lost via forfeit when they failed to field a team.

With an empty field and a lot of time on their hands, the Pirates took the opportunity to utilize the verdant carpet for a round of practice—something that paid off in yesterday’s 9-4 win.

The Hustlers ran into trouble early with several miscues in the opening inning, but they were quickly juiced up when Manny Sablan took Ray Dela Cruz’s pitch out of the park for a solo shot an estimated 50 feet over the right field wall.

Coincidentally, Sablan was also the first player in the history of the SML to clear the fence of Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field with a wooden bat when the fall league instituted the use of lumber in 2005. Sablan’s effort was also the first longball at Kan Pacific as well as the first of the 2005-06 round of ball.

On the other side of the ball, pitcher Jonathan Camacho went the distance for the Hustlers, but he was unable to keep the Pirates offense in check.

“Those guys were hitting the ball well of Jonathan Camacho,” said league coordinator Tony Rogolifoi.

After the Pirates took the lead early on, the Hustlers tried to creep back into the game, but they failed to put together a string of success long enough to pull out a win leading some to speculate that were still suffering from the news of the previous day.

“The Hustlers eventually began to rally toward the end but it was too little too late because the Pirates were on fire today. Maybe it’s because [the Hustlers] learned before the game that they were forfeited yesterday, but they didn’t perform well,” said Rogolifoi.

Another factor in the loss is that the Hustlers were without three of their brightest stars, as Jester Garcia was off island, Byron Kaipat was working, and Jonathan Delos Santos was sidelined with an injury.

The SML Fall championships continue this weekend when Hustler’s look to stave off elimination on Saturday morning, Feb. 4, at 10am at Kan Pacific. If necessary, Game 4 will be played on Sunday, Feb. 5, with a necessary Game 5 to take place a week later on Saturday, Feb. 11.