Padres, Royals bash foes in SBL

The Padres and Royals bashed their foes in the continuation of the 2024 Tan Holdings-Saipan Baseball League last Tuesday and Wednesday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

Last Tuesday, the Padres scared off the Braves, 15-3, for their seventh win.

The Braves started off strong as they struck first in the opening inning with three consecutive runs by the top of their order. Joell Borja, Heath Camacho, and Angelo Igitol all crossed home plate to get them on the board early, 3-0.

The Padres then fired back and more as they tied it up, 3-3, and overtook the lead, 4-3, in the next inning. Jordan Suel, Keith Kintol, Jonah Flores, and Ben Jones all scored as the whole lineup from one through nine stepped up to the plate and induced a Braves’ pitching change early in the game.

The Braves could not handle the heat of Padres pitcher Jose Deleon Guerrero as they went mum at the plate. They went down in order in the second, then could not capitalize with runners on base in the third. They had chances with runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth, but the Padres’ pitching staff and defense held up and kept them at bay.

The Padres, on the other hand, went on to score two in the fourth, one in the fifth, four in the sixth, and three more in the seventh for a 15-3 final.

Frankie Lifoifoi of the Padres went 2-for-3 hits, collected three RBIs, and scored two runs, while leadoff batter Jones was perfect at 2-for-2, had one run and RBI, and hit a double.

In the game between the Royals and the D-9er’s last Wednesday, the former came out on top in whirlwind fashion, 16-15.

It was a fight to the finish as the D-9er’s blew their lead when the Royals rallied in the last inning. The D-9er’s had a 15-12 cushion at the top of the seventh, but it didn’t last long as the Royals tied it up and wrapped it up with a walk-off run in the bottom of the inning.

The Royals’ heart of the order brought in the tying and winning runs as Kier Agda, Thomas Reyes, Marvin Ngeskebei, and Gloyd Martin scored a run each to win by one, 16-15.

Last Monday, the Bandits stole the show over the Natives, 16-2.

If it didn’t rain last night, the Blue Jays took on Sandlot, with results to follow.

In the standings, the Falcons clinched the pennant with their 9-1 record; Bandits are at 8-2; the Cardinals are at 7-3; Padres have a 7-2 record; Sandlot are at 6-3; Braves have a 6-4 record; Blue Jays and Royals are 5-4 each; Bears are 4-6; D-9er’s are 3-7; White Sox are 2-7; Natives haven’t won a game and lost nine; while Blue Shark lost all their games at 10 losses.