Braves tomahawk Pirates, 17-7

The Tanapag Braves opened up their bag of offense to wallop the Little League Pirates at the Oleai Sports Complex Saturday morning, as the boys from the northern end of Saipan ran away with a 17-6 victory against last season’s champions in a mercy-rule shortened affair.

Winning pitcher Charito Kladikim threw in only two innings for the Braves, but the young pitcher allowed one run and fanned five atop the mound to get his team off on the right foot before closer Chris Meyers finished the job. Meyers allowed five runners to cross the plate and struck out seven in the final three innings, but he picked up the save in part because he received plenty of run support.

Shortstop Josh Jones put the “S” in support, as the Tanapag youth hit a single, a double, and a triple to go along with his two runs batted in and four runs scored. Teammate Jonathan Camacho went 2-for-2 at the plate for the Braves, as the utility infielder hit a single, a double, drove in a run, and scored twice. Meyers helped his cause with the bat, as the reliever went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run homerun.

Dan Dan Blue Jays 17, Toyota Matrix 0

The team from Dan Dan had the Toyota Matrix singing the blues on Saturday, as the Blue Jays scored all of the runs that they needed when Jonathan Deleon Guerrero crossed the plate in the bottom of the first inning.

Deleon Guerrero led the charge for the Jays with a 3-for-4 outing that yielded a pair of singles, a double, three runs batted in, and three runs scored. Shortstop Justin Kintol went 2-for-3 for the Jays with a double, a triple, an RBI, and a run scored, while teammate Toby Fleming was a perfect 2-for-2 on the day with a single, a double, and a pair of plate crossings.

VFW Patriots 13, Hustlers 0

The Patriots day at the ballpark was similar to that of the Blue Jays, as they coasted to an easy victory after taking a one-run lead in the first inning, but their success was largely due to a pair of hurlers that sent the opposing batters to their dugout scratching their heads.

Starter Clyde Sablan walked three batters amidst a scoreless, hitless, six-strikeout three innings atop the mound, while reliever Nokkie Lizama had identical numbers in the final two.

The Patriots needed only one run to win, but they got solid outings from left fielder Marvin Ngeskebei (2-for-2 two RBIs), and center fielder Hopwan Agui who went 1-for-2 with a two-run homerun. Sablan provided some of the offense as well, hitting 2-for-4 with a single, a double, and a plate crossing.

Little Legals 10, McDonald’s 9

After taking a 9-1 lead early on, the Little Legals watched as the McDonald’s nine rallied to score eight runs in the final two innings to tie the game at nine apiece in the top of the sixth, but the Legals foiled the McComeback when Satu Hocog singled Ryan Ichihara across the plate for the game winning RBI.

The teams combined to put an end to the trend of blowouts by playing arguably the finest game of the day. Shortstop Mike Fitial was flawless for the Little Legals at the plate, hitting 2-for-2 with a single, a double, and three runs scored, while teammate Eli Miwata was a solid 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and two scores.

Junior League
Fielders 5, Hustlers 4
In a game in which the winning team recorded only one hit, the Fielders’ Elton Santos crossed the plate for the eventual game winning score when Joe Villagomez trotted to first after being walked with the bases loaded.

The game changing moment occurred with the score tied at four runs apiece in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Hustlers pitchers walked nine batters and plunked a pair in seven innings of less than perfect baseball.

Jets 15, Marlins 4

The Jets scored a six-pack of runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back en route to a 15-6 shelling during the second game at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field on Saturday afternoon. Third baseman Mario Salas led the charge for the Jets with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate that netted the youngster a trio of triples and three scores, while teammate Ben Guerrero went 2-for-4 with a single, triple, three runs batted in, and three runs scored.

Falcons 21, Pirates 18

A pair of baseball teams put together a football like score during their seven inning affair on Saturday evening that went well after sunset, but the Falcons emerged victorious due to a 12-run explosion in the top of the sixth inning that gave them the lead for good.

After trailing 12-5 heading into the top of the sixth inning, the Falcons began to chip away at the lead with the help of six walks and two errors. The Falcons notched just five hits in their overwhelming outburst that had four of their players crossing the plate twice in the same inning.

Third baseman Jerome Mira leads the league with the lowest ERA (1.00), but on Saturday he led his team at the plate with a flawless 3-for-3 performance. Mira hit a pair of singles, a double, scored four runs, drove in two runs—one of which was a sacrifice fly. Teammate Charles Kladikim was a solid 2-for-3 with the stick, with a single, a walk, and a homerun.