Honors doled out for Junior Leaguers

(Second of four parts)

The long awaited Saipan Little League Baseball Association end of season awards ceremony recognized the top hitters, pitchers, and fielders in all four divisions on Saturday at Tan Ge Field, and none showed up like the Kautz Glass Pirates.

The yellow and black showed up in force under the sun as they received their due as the 2005 pennant winners and the runners-up to the Ol’Aces in the championship.

After edging the Ol’Aces with a playoff win, the Pirates took the honors, but the tables were turned as the teams swapped roles in the finals.

The Pirates also recognized the individual achievements of standout hitter Ofero Taitano for finishing the season as the top tripler with five three baggers on the season, but his stellar .450 batting average was not enough to win the batting crown as Jets slugger Mario Salas was recognized for leading the league with an improbable 21-for-40 .525.

Salas was the one award winner from the Jets, as was Vicente Cabrera of the Marlins, who led the league with five doubles.

One by one, a few of the Ol’ Aces were called to the trophy table to receive their due as Ben Taisacan bagged the homerun race with three on the year, Isaih Wabol stepped to the plate for crossing it the most times with 28 runs scored, and team leader Ryan Ada picked up the hardware for driving in the most runs with 20.

Once the sultans of swat were honored for their accomplishments at the plate, league organizers quickly turned their attention to those who tried to thwart their efforts. After surrendering 24 earned runs off of 29 hits through 48 2/3 innings, Marley Techur of the Falcons recorded the lowest earned run average in the Juniors with a 3.46.

Techur successfully made the jump from the cozy confines of Tan Ge Field to the grassy expanse of Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field, but just to be safe, the hurler fanned the most batters by sending 63 would be hitters back to their dugouts.

After Marley “The Machine” returned to the shade, Ada was recalled into the circle of honor as the recipient of the 2005 regular season’s most valuable player award. The youngster with wisdom beyond his years was also a driving force behind the CNMI team that represented the Pacific Region in Taylor, Michigan.

A moment later, Ada was followed by teammate Juan Iguel as the most valuable players of the 2005 championships. After helping the Ol’Aces win the title, the youngster later slid across home plate against a powerful Guamanian team at Tinian Municipal Stadium to send the CNMI to the Junior League World Series.

Following the team awards, the Marlins reeled in the coveted Sportsmanship Award for their winning attitude.