Big League avenges loss to Guam

MUNICIPAL BASEBALL FIELD, Tinian—A year after suffering a heart-breaking 4-3 defeat to Guam in the championship game, the CNMI Big Leaguers vented months worth of frustration on Saturday evening by crushing their biggest rival to get revenge in their first game of the 2005 Asia-Pacific Regional Tournament, 16-6.

While the score indicated a one-sided victory, the team from Saipan found themselves in a serious hole early on when they were trailing Guam 6-0 heading into the bottom of the third. After Guam starting pitcher Rick Hernandez allowed only one hit through the first two innings, the CNMI went Anatahan by exploding for seven runs off of five hits to stir their fans into a frenzy by taking a 7-6 lead.

The turn of events was more than the Guamanians could handle as the defending Asia-Pacific champions failed to record another hit the rest of the way.

The CNMI smelled blood in the water and tallied three more in the fourth before piling on six in the bottom of the fifth inning to force umpires to invoke the 10-run mercy rule.

By the time the dust settled, the CNMI scored 16 runs off of 15 hits including a monster two-run shot by John Peter Sablan that cleared the fence in right-center. Sablan finished the day a perfect 4-for-4 with a pair of singles, a double, and four runs batted in to add to the only homerun of the tournament thus far. No one at the field knew that Sablan hit the homer until Guam centerfielder Mike Cruz turned away from the fence and started heading back.

Oliver Secharmidal was the first to cross the plate when Sablan went yard, but the shortstop scored three times in the game in part to his 2-for-4 performance that yielded a single, a double, and a pair of ribbies.

The duo would hook up again in the fifth inning when Sablan smacked a double that sent Secharmidal across the plate for the 16th and final run of the game. Anthony Palacios also made a name for himself in the contest by hitting a single and a pair of doubles to finish 3-for-4 with three runs batted in for the CNMI, while catcher Patrick Alepuyo was flawless with a pair of base knocks and a stolen base in two attempts.

SENIOR LEAGUE
Guam 14, CNMI 4

The CNMI suffered its first loss of the weekend on Saturday afternoon when the Guamanian Senior Leaguers scored four runs in each of the first and fourth innings before adding six in the bottom of the fifth to force the umpires to call the game on account of the 10-run mercy rule.

Third baseman Mathew Barcinas led the charge for the southernmost island in the Marianas chain by hitting 3-for-4 with a two singles, two doubles, and two runs batted in, while teammate Kurt Diaz drove in three runs off of a double and a triple to finish 2-for-4.

Despite being tagged for 16 runs off of nine hits, CNMI pitching could not solely be held accountable for the loss as six of the runners that scored reached base via error, however the three hurlers weren’t without flaw, as six of the nine batters that walked eventually crossed home plate.

The home team boasted a pair of bright spots as second baseman Cadez Tenorio hit a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of singles, while centerfielder Jess Iguel went 2-for-3 with a pair of base hits and a double.

JUNIOR LEAGUE
Indonesia 13, Hong Kong 1

Hong Kong received a rude welcoming from Indonesia in their first visit to the Asia-Pacific Tournament by ending up on the painful side of a 13-1 affair that was called midway through the fifth inning.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Hong Kong squad watched as Indonesia scored five in the bottom of the inning and seven in the second to take control of the contest almost as soon as it began.
Right fielder Mahendra Danahiswara Poedjono led by example with a pair of singles and three runs batted in for Indonesia to finish 2-for-3, while Yoshi Wibisomo smacked a pair of singles to finish 2-for-4.

Shortstop Adi Hutomo added some excitement for his fan faithful with a two-run triple and a stolen base in his team’s complete victory.

Philippines 14, Indonesia 0

After finishing the night before with a win, Indonesia took one on the chin yesterday morning as the Philippines thumped their neighboring archipelago by taking advantage of numerous miscues and 12 walks.

Team Pinoy didn’t rely on the Indonesian handouts as they smacked 10 hits to get to their total led by first baseman Antonio Brias’ 2-for-3 performance at the plate that yielded a single, double, and two runs batted in. Center fielder Joel Lomotan went 2-for-3 with a pair of base knocks and a stolen base, while Ben Antonio “Ton Ton” Lacsamana went 1-for-2 with an RBI single, a stolen base, and a pair of walks.

Third baseman Bernardo Adrian stole three bases, but his ESPN moment occurred in the top of the fifth when he hit a two-run double.

SENIOR LEAGUE
Philippines 4, Hong Kong 2

The Filipino Senior Leaguers followed in the footsteps of their younger brothers yesterday afternoon by getting their tournament off on the right foot by winning their opening contest against Hong Kong.

Jay Laurel pitched a gem in going the distance for the Philippines by allowing two runs off of four hits and recording a tournament-high 12 strikeouts. The hurler needed to be at the top of his game as his offense was only able to generate four hits.

First baseman Jose De Mesa supplied half of the power to the Philippines by driving in a pair of runs—including the game winner when he doubled in Ian Macapinlac in the bottom of the fifth inning. De Mesa added an RBI single to lead his team by going 2-for-3 at the plate while teammate Paolo Mallari went 1-for-1 with a single and a pair of walks.

After taking a 2-0 lead through the first two innings, the Philippines allowed Hong Kong to pull to within a run in the top of the third before answering back in the bottom of the inning with a tally.

The former British colony managed to score another run in the top of the sixth, but failed to support their four pitchers with a successful push against RP.