Lizama and Jones probable starters in Major Division

With the finals of the Major Division of the Saipan Little League Baseball Association taking place this afternoon at Tan Ge field in Oleai, it’s an easy bet that the managers of the Tanapag Braves and the UMDA Hustlers will start Josh Jones and Nokkie Lizama, respectively.

Both of the hurlers produced on both sides of the ball for their respective teams, but the Hustlers got a little more production from Lizama, who led the league in both hitting and pitching.

Lizama’s number on the mound were impressive, as the ace went 7-0 through 31 innings on the hill through nine games, and allowed nine runs off of 20 hits to finish the season with a miniscule earned run average of 1.74 and a stunning 66 strikeouts.

Lizama showed similar domination when he picked up the bat, as the little slugger unseated Eric Tenorio to take the batting title by hitting 32-for-42 for a .762 batting average.

To his credit, last year’s champ Tenorio went 25-for-33 to finish the season in second with a batting average of .758, but even his league-best seven homeruns and second place numbers in doubles (11) and runs batted in (24) were not enough to lift the As Matuis Twins further than today’s consolation round with Kagman 1-2-3..

Aside from besting his peers in the percentage race, Lizama ruled the roost with 28 plate crossings, 17 doubles, and 37 runs batted in, while taking second in the homeruns with five, and third in triples with five as well.

As Tony Celis and his Hustlers lace up the cleats and don their caps for today’s championship match-up, they will also take the league’s seventh leading hitter to battle, with Jonathan Tydingco—who hit safely in 19 of 35 attempts this season for a batting average of .543.

The Braves have plenty of reason to be confident in today’s match-up as well. George Lieto is bringing in two of the league’s top pitchers and hitters along with him to the ballpark.

For starters, Josh Jones finished only.06 points behind Lizama in the ERA race, allowing nine earned runs off of 18 hits through 30 innings spread out over eight games of work. Jones’ impressive ERA of 1.80, 63 strikeouts, and record of 3-1 on the mound lifted him to the runner up in the standings, but the Braves also have the talents of multi-purpose player Chris Meyers.

Meyers blends a mixture of power and speed in all facets of the game, and his 2.97 ERA was good enough for fourth overall among the league’s top pitchers. The hurler allowed 13 earned runs off of 15 hits through 26.1 innings played over a stretch of five games.

Meyers also hand-delivered 36 strikeouts from the hill, but picked up his bat to tie for third in the homerun race with three longballs.

Jones was no stranger to successful hitting during the regular season, as he went 20-for-40 to finish tied for 13th overall with a .500 batting average.

While Meyers and Jones put up solid numbers for the Braves, their ace at the plate is Eli Pangelinan. Tanapag’s most consistent hitter went 16-for-29 to lead the red and white squad from the north with a .552 batting average.