Patriots patronize premier perch

The Saipan Little League Baseball Association is in full swing, and after working up a sweat through the first eight games of the season. The first place Patriots have yet to lose a game under the sun on Tan Ge Field.

Under the watchful eyes of Thelma Mizer and Manny Sablan, the Patriots have ruled the roost for the entire season, and they have done so with some of the league’s top players on the mound and at the plate.

One of the reasons the Patriots have done so well is the performance of pitcher Joseph Palacios, who owns the league’s lowest earned run average with a miniscule 1.02.

Palacios has yet to lose a game in four starts and has given up just three runs through 17.2 innings of work on the hill. When he takes a breather, the Patriots still have an undefeated arm on the shelf in Brian Camacho.

With a 3-0 record and just five runs allowed through 19.1 innings, Camacho has the leagues second-lowest ERA at 1.55. The duo is doing one heck of a job keeping opposing batters at bay, but sluggers Anthony Salas, Jeremy Rabauliman, and Jonakin Deleon Guerrero are helping out on the offensive side of the ball with some pretty impressive numbers.

Salas is sporting a hefty .682 batting average in 22 trips to the plate, Rabauliman has an even .600, and Deleon Guerrero is still batting .500—all major reasons for the Patriots’ rise to power.

At 6-2, the homesteaders increased their stake in the pennant race and have turned their fortunes around to vault into second place thanks to a combination of strong pitching and consistent hitting.

Richard Dela Cruz has been pitching like a champ with a 2.21 ERA, while teammate Ignacio Benavente is rocking with a 3.06 and the fifth highest strikeout tally with 33. He is also tied atop the league with three triples, while Dela Cruz is the co-leader in the homerun category with three round trippers and leads the RBI race with 14.

Though the duo is making waves at the plate, they are being out hit by fellow Kagman 1-2-3 sluggers Benjamin Hocog (.533) and Regis Leroy (.500).

The Tanapag Braves also took a big step forward when they moved into third place at 6-3. They have a pair of standouts in pitcher Lamarc Iguel and slugger Charito Kladikm. Iguel boasts a 3.66 ERA through 21.1 innings, while Kladikm has provided power with a pair of homeruns and a 3.43 earned run average on the hill.

After winning it all last year, the Hustlers traded in the silver and black in favor of the green, white, and yellow, and they are quietly making a run for the pennant at 5-2, thanks in part to the league’s top hitter Anthony Manalo and pitcher Daylinne Joseph.

Manalo has pounded opposing pitchers with an unrivaled .722 BA, while Joseph boasts a slim 1.80 earned run average.

Another team making a run at the pennant is the little nuggets of McDonald’s, but they took a couple of steps back when they fell to Kagman and the Braves over the weekend. After cruising to a 5-1 record, the burgermeisters slipped from second to fifth at 5-3, but they still have the star power at the skilled positions.

Imposing pitcher Peter Tenorio dropped his first game of the season to fall to 4-1 on the season, but he still owns a league- leading 56 strikeout total. As impressive as his numbers are, Tenorio’s hitting prowess is still far behind teammates Nathan Guerrero (.588) and Jonah Villagomez’s (.550).

The Toyota Matrix lost out a little bit last weekend to fall to 3-5, but the spirited squad has one of the league’s most dangerous weapons in Rocco Reyes, who leads the league in runs scored (14) and triples (3), is second in runs batted in (13) and doubles (6), and sports an impressive .500 batting average to boot.

The Matrix also has a big name pitcher in Harry Nakamura, who has been knocking them down with 46 strikeouts for the league’s second-highest total.

The Twins don’t have any stars on the mound, but they have a pair of premium sluggers in search for the batting title. Zachary Aldan (.588) and Vince Castro (.526) are hitting machines, but As Matuis team will have to get some defense to pull out of their 2-5 slide.

At 2-5, the Pirates don’t have a lot to scream about, but they are doing a little bit better than the 1-6 and Ol’Aces. While the Aces are just a hair away from last place, they have a couple of players who have made names for themselves thus far though the season.

Roky Matagolai (.500) and Rico Peter (.500) are a coin flip away from a hit every time they enter the batter’s box, and have a shot at representing their squads on Saipan’s all-star team if they can keep it up.

The only team worse off than the Ol’Aces are the 1-8 Red Sox, but it’s hard to fathom that any team that takes the field in Saturdays and Sundays on Saipan has a bad day at the ballpark at all.