Asahi taps into firepower for softball title sweep over Sufa

Top seed Asahi brewed an almost perfect season and came out on top with a sweep of the best-of-3 championship series over Sufa in the 2024 Budweiser Belau Amateur Softball Association master’s division yesterday at the Dandan Softball Field.

Game 1 saw a close battle with the last two teams standing as Sufa almost notched the win, but Asahi’s bottom- of-the-inning rally secured the first game, 11-10.

Asahi ace Dom Hideo then fired heaters to hold down Sufa in the second game and was helped along with his offense’s firepower for an overwhelming, 30-19 final to sweep the series.

Despite the ace on the mound again for Asahi, it turned into a slugfest later as Sufa gunned for a deciding third and final game, while Asahi looked to secure their first ever championship.

Asahi had a 6-3 lead heading into the third, then Hideo gave up a two-run jack to J.J. Cabrera to inch Sufa within one, 5-6. But Hideo’s offense backed him up as they blew the game wide open in the fourth inning from back-to-back hits and runs.

As the dust settled, Asahi clobbered Sufa pitching and made it a new ballgame, 22-5. Hideo helped himself to a three-run homer to ensure some breathing room for himself on the mound.

Sufa still had some fight left in them as they got within half after a six-run fourth inning, 11-22. After three consecutive runs for Sufa, Pat Deleon Guerrero hit a three-run homer even before the first half was registered. Asahi finally got the next two outs to get out of the inning with still a 10-run lead.

In the fifth, Asahi’s Taylor Germance hit a two-run shot and lengthened their lead even more, 24-11. Hideo then knocked Sufa out in the fifth and sixth, but Sufa regained consciousness in the last inning and tried for a late game rally. However, at this point, Asahi brought in six more runs from homers by Anson Jones and Germance and for a 30-11 game.

Hideo buckled in on the mound for a wild last inning as Sufa made contact and got runners on base. Then, Deleon Guerrero stepped up to the plate and hit a grand slam to cut the lead, 17-30. It was still a huge deficit as Hideo sat on a hefty 13-run cushion. He then gave up two more runs, but wrapped it up with the final out to win the championship in a two-game sweep.

Player/coach McQueen Masaharu said after winning their first championship, “We feel good. We wanted it and everybody played hard. They played their best, and most importantly they had fun.”

With their close call in the first game and then their rebound in the second with more runs and hits, he said, “We just found our hits—everybody was hitting the ball. We took the first game, then the second game we just took control of it.”

As for their 13-2 run in the regular season that won them the pennant, he said, “It was a good season. We got two losses but we won the pennant—we just had fun and played hard—that’s it.”

He said the competition was good and tough as well. “Everybody played hard. We had some tough games but we still made it,” he said.

Asahi didn’t make it all the way last year and Masaharu said that there was a big difference in the team this year. “The roster changed and we started practicing. Everybody got their batting up to par and that’s what won our games,” he said.

Results of the MVP and individual awards will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.