Pirates advance to Masters League finals

The Pirates advanced to the 2023 Tan Holdings-SBL Masters League championship round after holding off the Blue Jays, 20-10, in their semifinals game last Tuesday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

The onslaught of runs from both teams matched the on-and-off downpour of rain throughout the night. Despite a rain-slicked diamond, the game continued with about only five minutes of delay—and they were back at it.

The Blue Jays struck first as they brought in three runs in the first inning, but the Pirates made light work of starting pitcher Ed Santos in the second. Eleven runs came in before the Blue Jays’ pitcher and strikeout king Kevin Kapileo stepped in to stop the bleeding.

Two runs would score for the Blue Jays in the third inning, which was started by Jun Salalila’s double, but they still had a 5-11 gap to bridge.

The Pirates added to their scoreboard as they scored three runs in their at-bat from Jerome Delos Santos, Mark Toves, and Audie Maratita. Kapileo worked like a horse as he registered the third out quickly after to give his team a fighting chance.

However, the Blue Jays would score only three runs in the fourth inning, with a still hefty 14-8 lead by the Pirates. The Pirates were shut down in their at-bat but came back with a vengeance in the fifth inning as they brought in five runs with the help of the Blue Jays’ faltering defense.

The last inning saw the Pirates add one more run on the board—and with the last at-bat reserved for the Blue Jays, the game ended when the top three of the lineup failed to get on base.

The Pirates now await the winner of the Dodgers and Reds semifinals game. Both teams were scheduled to play last night, with results to be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.