Cardinals take Game 1 of finals

The Top 2 baseball teams—the experienced and undefeated Cardinals and the up-and-coming young sluggers of the Junior Nationals—clashed in Game 1 of the 2023 Tan Holdings-Saipan Baseball League’s best-of-3 championship series on a rare clear night Monday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

It was definitely a fight to the finish as both teams took advantage of the absence of rain and played until the late hours—where the Cardinals’ six-run eighth inning secured their Game 1 win, 16-7.

The Cardinals’ top of the order struck first as they brought in three runs in the first inning against Junior Nationals pitcher Jon Diaz. After Diaz allowed Shane Yamada on base via a walk, the league’s batting champ Nokki Saralu found a gap for a base hit that brought in Yamada. 

Poland Masaharu got on base on balls, while Saralu scored from an RBI single by Brian Camacho. Diaz got out of the jam after walking Eli Aughenbaugh and Keoni Kaipat, then finally proceeding to get three outs. 

The Junior Nationals were then back in the game after they tied it up, 3-3 in the second inning. Andre Iguel started things off with the first run, then a second run by Jylon Sablan from an RBI double from Joell Borja. 

J.R. Suel then loaded the bases on a walk and after, Achilles Evangelista scored the third run from an RBI walk.

The Cardinals’ offense then proceeded to pick up their pitching staff as they scored six runs in the third inning for a six-run lead that went unanswered until the sixth inning.

The Junior Nationals’ Suel broke the silence after he got into scoring position and was brought home by Angelo Igitol, but they couldn’t tack on any more runs before three outs were made and were down, 4-10.

In the eighth inning, the Cardinals dashed the hopes of the Junior Nationals for a close game as they scored six runs on account of the Junior Nationals’ faltering defense. 

Four Cardinals batters—Saralu, Masaharu, Camacho, and Nate Smith—got on base through errors, which the rest of the lineup capitalized on and scored them in plus two more runs for good measure.

The Junior Nationals tried to make a comeback in the last inning and fell short as only three runs came in, but not due to a lack of effort. 

Borja, Suel, and Evangelista scored from their teammates’ fight in the batters’ box, but the Cardinals’ 12-run lead was just too steep to chip away at before three outs registered and the lights turned off on an exciting Game 1.

Although a looming rainy weather forecast is expected for tonight, Game 2 is scheduled as the Cardinals try to sweep the Junior Nationals—and the Junior Nationals try to take it into a winner-take-all, tie-breaking third game this Friday.