Hustlers, A’s breathing down Braves’ necks

By Shan Seman

Staff Reporter

The Tanapag Braves are hanging on to the No. 1 spot in Saipan’s Big League Baseball Division with just a half game lead over the St. Jude Hustlers and the A’s.

The Braves sit on top of the league standings with a 5 win 1 loss record. The Hustlers and the A’s are charging right behind the Tanapag squad as both teams have an identical 5 wins, 3 loss records. The D-9ers sit at the bottom of the standings as they have yet to win a game.

Braves sluggers Jeremiah Suel, Vincent Duenas, Jose Iguel, and Rudy Sablan are having a spectacular season as they all rank among the league leaders in batting.

Suel is currently ranked second in the league with a .522 batting average. He is also tied for the league lead in runs as he crossed the plate 12 times this year. Suel has also displayed his power at the plate smacking the ball for 3 doubles, and has also drove in 6 runs.

Suel is also getting the job done defensively as he also ranks fourth in the league in pitching. He has a 1.40 earned run average, allowing only 1 run in five innings.

Duenas and Iguel are ranked fourth and seventh in the league in batting. Duenas has a .440 batting average to go along with his 11 hits, while Iguel has posted a .375 average, going 9 for 24 at the plate.

Sablan has also accumulated 9 hits for the year, and is riding on a .360 batting average. He is tied with Suel in the doubles category with 3.

Braves pitcher Maynard San Nicolas is also having a solid season with an earned run average of 2.58. He has allowed 14 runs in 38 innings. He has also struck out 30 batters, which ranks him second behind D-9ers ace Timothy Mafnas, who has 38.

The Braves will have their hands full in their next game as they face the Hustlers next Tuesday. The Hustlers can move into the number one spot with a victory.

The Hustlers pitching staff of Kolani Castro, Bobbie Castro, and William Wankit will have the opportunity to shut down the Braves sluggers. They all rank among the league leaders in pitching.

Kolani is ranked second in the league with a 1.16 earned run average, while brother Bobbie is in third with a 1.34 earn run average. Kolani has also struck out 15 batters, which ranks him fourth in the league.

Wankit, who recently moved to Saipan from Hawaii, has 2.08 earned run average, allowing 4 runs in 13.1 innings of work.

The A’s are also in the hunt for the pennant, and can improve their chances with a win on Thursday against the D-9ers.

Expected to have solid outings are sluggers Billy Joe Camacho, Frank Muna, Jess Aguon, and Jonathan Camacho.

Billy Joe is currently the league’s most dangerous hitter as he ranks number one in four of the six batting categories. He leads the league with a .625 batting average to go along with his 5 doubles, 3 triples, and 9 runs batted in. He is also tied for second in the runs category with 10.

For his part, Muna is riding on a .522 batting average, with 12 runs scored, 2 triples, and 8 runs batted in. He also leads all pitchers with a remarkable 0.59 earned run average, allowing only 1 run in 18.2 innings, while striking out 23 batters.

Aguon has a .385 batting average with 10 hits, while Jonathan is batting .370 with 10 hits.

Jonathan has also scored 10 runs to go along with his 2 triples. He also drove in 8 runs.