Hustlers in a hurry, Pirates still alive

The Hustlers scored all of the runs they needed in the first inning en route to improving their record to 2-3 as they cruised to an easy victory over the North Stars, 15-3, on Saturday afternoon at Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.

The Hustlers wasted no time, as they jumped all over the second place Stars from the beginning by scoring six runs off of three hits in the top of the first inning to get the ball rolling, and pitcher Byron Kaipat took care of the rest.

Kaipat allowed just three runs off of five hits in seven innings of work before the game was called via the 10-run mercy rule. The Hustlers’ hurler fanned four and walked two to get the job done, while teammate Roy Celis went 2-for-5 at the plate with a single, a double, and four plate crossings.

Jonathan Camacho had a solid day at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 with a single, a double, and two scores before being plunked by a Brandon Santos pitch in the sixth inning.

In the second game of the double header, the Pirates and the Kautz Glass Glazers needed more light than the sun was able to provide, as the hotly contested match up proved to be too much for one day to handle.

After taking a 3-0 lead after two innings, the Pirates surrendered four runs in the top of the third to allow the Glazers back into the game. Ben Taisican got the ball rolling when he knocked home Franco Flores. Henry Rabauliman followed by knocking home J.P. Sablan and Taisican to tie the game before William Kaipat drove in Rabauliman to take the lead.

The Pirates answered back with three runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Glazers found a way to tally three more in the top of the fourth to regain the lead. The Glazers kept the fire stoked by scoring another run in the fifth and a pair in the sixth, before the Pirates were able to score when Matt Kintol crossed the plate off of a passed ball.

Both of the teams fell silent in the seventh, and the Glazers tacked on another in the top of the eighth to make the score 11-6. In the bottom half of the inning, the Pirates let loose a seven-run salvo to surge ahead of the Glazers, 13-11. The Pirates capitalized on eight Glazers errors in the bottom of the eighth, and needed only four hits to turn the game around.

The 2-4 Glazers were determined to bring the 4-1 Pirates down a notch, and scored three more runs in the top of the ninth inning to gain a 14-13 advantage. The Pirates caught a break in the bottom of the inning when Peter Tomokane reached base on an error. He advanced to second base on another Glazers error, and after Joey Dela Cruz was walked, the Pirates had runners on the corners with two outs.

That’s the way the game remains, as the sun’s rays were extinguished by the Philippine Sea in the early evening. The game will continue this weekend when the teams retake Palacios field on Saturday morning to decide the outcome.