D-9ers undeniable at Tan Ge

The Santa Rosa II D-9ers pulled out all the stops under the lights at Tan Ge Softball Field as they pummeled the Islanders 18-0 to take the lead in the pennant race on Wednesday night in continuation of the Men’s Island-Wide Fast-Pitch Softball League.

Pitcher Jess Peterson was almost untouchable atop the rubber as the veteran hurler allowed just three hits in the five-inning complete game win over the Islanders, but his offense was ready to support him anyway.

The D-9ers put on a hitting clinic right from the start as they ripped off 11 runs in the top of the first inning that essentially ended the game as soon as it began. Mel Sakisat was as good at the plate as Peterson was on the mound as the spirited shortstop went a perfect 4-for-4 with a pair of singles, a double, and an inside the park homerun.

The perennial all-star ended the night with three runs scored and five runs batted in, while first baseman Tony Camacho put his talents on a display with a 3-for-4 outing that yielded four runs batted in off of a pair of doubles and an inside the park homerun.

The dynamic duo didn’t have to do all the work in the win as second baseman Jerome Delos Santos went 2-for-3 with a single, a triple, and an RBI, center fielder Roy Celis went 2-for-4 with two singles and a ribby, and big hitting B.J. Sablan went 2-for-3 with a single, a two-bagger, and drove in a run.

With an 11-0 lead in hand early on, the D-9ers had an easy go of it the rest of the way. Just to be sure that the Islanders wouldn’t come back to pull off an upset, the boys in blue added three in the top of the third and another four in the top of the fourth to slam the door.

All that the D-9ers had to do from there was wait until the umpires invoked the 10-run mercy rule, which they did in the bottom of the fifth when the Islanders failed to scored the necessary nine runs to continue the game.

With the win, the D-9ers improved to 5-1 on the season and leapt ahead of the Seabees ‘4’ for the top spot in the pennant race, while the Islanders slipped to 2-4 for a hold on third place.

The action of the Men’s Island-Wide Fast-Pitch Softball League continues tonight when the D-9ers return to the field to challenge the Proa (1-4) at 6:30pm, while the Islanders look for redemption in the late game against the Kagman Lancheros (1-3).