No Ka Oi opens with victory
With all of the high-powered softball teams playing in the local slow-pitch leagues, there is no reason that Saipan cannot take down a squad from Guam—especially if the game is on Saipan turf.
So far, the local teams are pulling their weight in the tourney in the 11th Annual Pacific Islands Club Thanksgiving Softball Tournament. Last year, the PIC team from Guam made the trip to the CNMI and won the championship in the pouring rain, but No Ka Oi was able to knock off the same team when they retuned to Saipan to compete in the Marianas Cup a couple of months ago.
That same No Ka Oi got the ball rolling on Thursday night in the opener when they knocked off Sakudi 14-3 under the lights at the Oleai Sports Complex. The action continued at 7:30pm when the Freedom Air Flyers knocked off Turkey Tail 12-2 in the second game, and Team C&Q edged the Brotherhood 25-24 in the third.
The final contest did not go so well for the local host, as PIC took one on the chin to the Bad Boyz 22-8, but Jon Cramer said that he expects that his team will rebound, and is capable of a strong finish.
The games of the slow-pitch double elimination tournament will continue this morning at 11:30am and through to the championship on Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Oleai Sports Complex, as the players compete for prizes from the PIC and Shell Marianas in this year’s softball-a-thon.
Aside from experiencing the satisfaction of getting in a good weekend of softball, the players can take comfort in the fact that a portion of the proceeds will go to the Marianas Tourism Education Council—the organization that governs the MyWave program.
