Hustlers, Comets go all the way

After blowing a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth, the UMDA Hustlers regained the advantage and survived a late rally with two-run single by Vincent Sablan in the bottom of the sixth to defeat the Aztecs in the Saipan Little League Baseball Association’s Senior League championship game at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field Sunday.

The Hustlers scored eight runs off of 13 hits, but none was more timely that the Sablan’s single that drove the final nail into the Aztec’s coffin in the sixth inning that sent third baseman Joshua Arriola and reliever Antoine Allen across home plate.

Rather than fill his team with the Raider-esque mantra of “Just Win Baby,” Hustlers manager Frank Aldan said that he let his team do what they were capable of without losing focus on the spirit of the game.

“We did good and we’re happy to be the champions. I told the boys to just have fun and play the game—they did it. We beat a good team,” said Aldan.

Aside from the clutch hitting, Aldan said the most important part of the game came from his pitchers, and he picked Allen as his most valuable player “because he’s the best pitcher.”

The multi-talented Allen spent most of the day at shortstop before taking the ball from starting pitcher John Mafnas in the top of the sixth, and had a solid day on the other side of the plate by hitting 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and an RBI, but he said that he would have rather been perfect.

“From the beginning I thought that we were going to win. I felt it ever since we beat the Ol’Aces in the playoff game. I pitched against them before so I felt like I would do alright, and I closed it out. My fastball wasn’t working that good, but my drop was and I got a lot of them to chase the knuckleball,” said Allen.

Mafnas went five innings for the Hustlers on the hill before heading over to second in favor of Allen, and allowed five runs off of six hits and fanned a half dozen before Allen came in and took the hill in relief with a run off of two hits in two innings.

Arriola went 2-for-2 on the day with two-run double in the fourth, a single, three runs scored, and a stolen base, while the clutch hitting catcher Sablan rounded out the championship with a solid 2-for-4 outing that included an RBI triple in the fourth, a stolen base, and his late-game heroics that proved to be the difference in the end.

The next stop for Allen, Arriola, and Mafnas is Tinian as a member of the CNMI All-Star team in the Asia-Pacific Regional tournament, and they will be joined by runners-up Smith Regis and Nicolas San Nicolas of the Aztecs.

Comets 7, Ol’Aces 2

After trailing for the better part of five innings, the Comets rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning before exploding for five runs in the sixth to overwhelm the Ol’Aces in the final stages of the Saipan Little League Baseball Association’s Big League championship at the Tan Ko field on Sunday in front of fans of all ages.

The Comets failed to yield any shining stars from behind the plate in the first four and a half innings, but got clutch performances out of a string of sluggers in the line-up as well as their pitcher.

Hurler J.P. Sablan went the distance for Comets and got the win in part by allowing only two runs and spreading eight hits over seven innings, but he aided his cause in the fifth by smacking a triple that sent third baseman Gary Cruz streaking across home plate.

Sablan later scored on an error to tie the game.

The pitcher made more noise at the plate during a five-run five-hit sixth inning that dealt the Ol’Aces a knockout blow, but Sablan’s real damage was done on the mound. The only runs inflicted on the Comets came during the third inning when the Ol’ Aces broke open a scoreless tie when catcher Jonathan Sablan scored on an error and when Ton Palacios singled in Tyrone Omar.

After tying the game at two in the fifth, Sablan got the Comets out of the top of the sixth with a 2-2 tie by only surrendering a pair of singles before his offense got to work. Centerfielder Jonathan Villagomez led off the hit parade with a single before being knocked home by shortstop Oliver Secharmidal’s double. With his teammate already in scoring position, Cruz stepped to the plate and singled in his shortstop before being doubled in by first baseman B.J. Nicolas.

After stealing second, Nicolas was driven home by Sablan, and centerfielder Ray Alepuyo cleaned up the bases by tripling in Sablan for the fifth and final run of the inning.