Hustlers come from behind to down Pirates

Jerome Delos Santos crossed home plate in the top of the eighth inning courtesy of a Speaker Fitial Pirates throwing error to give the Rep. Dave Apatang Hustlers the lead that they needed to win the game yesterday, in the final baseball game of the fall edition of the Saipan Major League at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.

Another series of errors allowed Roy Celis to give the Hustlers an insurance run, but pitcher Byron Kaipat took care of business in the bottom half of the eighth and a third of the ninth before Celis came in to finish the job.

After trailing 2-1 after five innings, third baseman A.J. Allen tied the game off of another Pirates error. From there, the Hustlers pitchers determined the outcome.

Kaipat gave up two runs off of seven hits, and struck out five Pirates in eight and a third innings of work, while Celis forced a pair of pop outs to Allen to end the game.

With the win, the Hustlers were vaulted into a first place tie with the Kautz Glass Glazers at 5-4, while the Pirates and the North Stars finished at 4-5.

On Saturday, the Hustler and the North Stars matched up at 10am, but the Hustlers quickly turned the lights out on the Stars in a 13-3 mercy shortened contest.

The Hustlers scored all of the runs that they would need when they hustled five runs in the bottom of the first. They added a run in the second and the fourth, but sealed the deal in the bottom of the fifth with four. After scoring again in the seventh, the Hustlers put an end to the contest when Luis Iguel crossed the plate to evoke the league’s 10-run mercy rule.

A.J. Allen scored twice for the Hustlers without ever getting a hit, while teammate J.R. Suel went 2-for-5 at the plate with a pair of scores as well. Catcher Manny Sablan also ate his Wheaties that morning, going 3-for-5 at the plate with a pair of singles and a double.

The afternoon game was a low-scoring affair between the Pirates and the Glazers, and featured a pitching duel between John Tudela of the Pirates and Dave Camacho of the Kautz Glass squad.

The game was tied at a run apiece before Bill Kaipat took advantage of a Pirates error to score, and Brien Sers Nicolas knocked in J.P. Sablan for a 3-1 1ead.

Camacho allowed four runs off of six hits in six innings before being relieved by Franco Flores in the seventh. Flores gave up a hit and struck out a pair in two innings. Tudela gave up a pair of runs off of seven hits and fanned five in the complete game victory.

The playoffs for the fall edition of the SML begin next weekend on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 9am and continue at 1pm at Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.