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Masters kneel before Kings
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Posted on Jun 21 2005
The Budweiser Kings continued their playoff push in the Saipan Major League by dispatching the Freedom Air Masters on Monday night in front of a crowd of fans who refused to let a few rain drops come between them and their favorite players at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.
After performing well when split into two teams during last week’s tournament on Guam, the Masters returned to Tan Ko field as a complete squad for a match between the SML’s oldest and youngest players. Unfortunately for the Masters, the Kings were well rested and honing their skills prior to their 2005 playoff run.
The Kings got the most mileage out of their pitcher John Villagomez who went the distance for the Kings allowing two runs off of four hits while striking out seven batters along the way.
Villagomez’s partner in crime behind the plate did his best to support his hurler as catcher Tyrone Attao provided most of the punch for the Kings with a 3-for-5 performance that yielded a string of singles, a run scored, a run batted in.
The outcome of the game was never in question as the Kings jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first three innings before the Masters answered with their only two scores in the top of the fourth. The Budweiser batters poured on the offense with a run in the fifth, another in the sixth, two in the seventh, and another when shortstop Matt Kintol provided a little late-game excitement when he stretched his stand-up triple in the bottom of the eighth into a score.
The speedy shortstop was charging all the way around the bases until he let up as the catcher misplayed the relay upon Kintol’s approach to the plate—roughly 15 feet from home.
Kintol finished the night 2-for-4 with a single, a triple, three scores, and a pair of stolen bags, while left fielder Herman Kintol went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, a run scored, and two stolen bases.
The Kings scored their nine runs off of 13 hits, and took advantage of the Masters’ miscues by scoring three times off of errors to improve their record to 6-5. The Bud squad is securely in fourth place ahead of the Toyota Tacoma at 3-8, while the Masters slid into second last at 2-9.
