Women’s softball league underway

The Inaugural NMI Softball Women’s League blew full steam ahead on a blazing hot Saturday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Softball Field in Susupe.

The league under the newly formed NMI Softball Association Inc. has six teams vying for the championship—Lady Blue Jays, 670 Babes, Wettz, Batties, Dirty Diamonds, and Man Amigas.

The games are played every Saturday with three games a day starting at 10am, then 12pm, and then 2pm. The championship schedule will be set as soon as the second round has ended.

It was forecasted to rain heavily last weekend, but Saturday was blessed with the hot sun instead—which worked in favor of the league as all three games were completed.

Before the games, an opening ceremony was held, with the first pitch thrown by Senate President Edith DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan). After the last game, NMISA president Froilan Camacho said in an interview that the first day of games were successful.

“We have six teams and they’re all committed to play the game. Everyone showed up and nobody was short of players. They all came out and did the best that they could,” said Camacho.

As for their performances on opening day, he said, “all the teams that came out were awesome. Their players are all mixed—they’re not from an original team. They’re all scattered around and they helped each other throughout the games.”

With the weekend forecasted to be rainy, he said, “We were just hoping that today (Saturday) was not going to be as rainy as expected. God blessed us with sun and we played—it was very hot.”

Along with this league, Camacho looks forward to the next slow pitch league next year. Along with that, tryouts for the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Palau will be opening soon. “We’ll try to scout players, see their performance, and once we have the opening tryouts, we’ll see if they come out,” he said.

“Thank you to all the fans, families, and team that came out. We hope to continue and to look forward to the women playing. This is not for the association—it’s for the women. So come out to play and watch,” he added.

The league is in partnership with Pacifica Insurance Underwriters, Inc., Senate President Edith DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan), Rep. Joel Camacho, House Speaker Edmund Villagomez (Ind-Saipan), and Rep. Malcolm Omar (Ind-Saipan).

Results of the first day of games will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.