McDonald’s tames Twins, 12-9

The super-sized Major League sluggers from McDonald’s pulled to within a game of the fourth place Tanapag Braves on Sunday as they edged the Wells Fargo As Matuis Twins, 12-9, at Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Field in continuation of the Saipan Little League Baseball Association.

Flame-throwing Peter Tenorio went the distance for the small fries as the pitcher allowed nine runs off of seven hits and fanned nine through six innings to maintain his lead in the strikeout race with 89 punch-outs.

The little nugget’s powerful arm was impressive and was the key factor in McDonald’s return to the .500 mark at 7-7, but his control lacked a bit with seven walks from the mound. Tenorio didn’t falter at the plate as he smacked a two-run homerun in the top of the fourth during his team’s six-run salvo that helped shape the outcome.

Second baseman Ray Tenorio wasn’t too shabby either as he was a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and a run batted in, while catcher Kevin Villagomez went 1-for-2 with a singles.

McDonald’s took a three-run lead in the top of the first and turned it into a 4-2 lead through two and a half before the Twins evened up the score with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.

That’s as close as the As Matuis boys would get as McDonald’s blew the game open with six runs in the top of the fourth, added a pair in the sixth, and held on, while the Twins scored five runs over the course of the final two innings.

PATRIOTS 17, MATRIX 3

The Patriots extended their undefeated streak to 14 games on Sunday as they victimized the Toyota Matrix with an offensive explosion in the top of the fourth that forced umpires to invoke the 10-run mercy rule.

Timothy Rabago continued his brilliant return to the league with a win on the mound after allowing three runs off of two hits and recording another six strikeouts in four innings of work.

Rabago went 2-for-3 at the plate with a single and a double, but his teammates provided the majority of the fireworks on the offensive side of the ball. Brian Camacho drove in a run and went 3-for-3 with a pair of singles and a double, while shortstop Justin Kintol drove in two runs, hit two singles, and stole two bases.

Catcher Anthony Salas put the finishing touch on a fantastic weekend with a 3-for-4 outing that accounted for a pair of singles, a double, and an RBI, but the real story was how he went 7-for-8 on the weekend to overtake Hustlers slugger Anthony Manalo in the batting race.

Matrix pitcher Harry Nakamura kept pace with McDonald’s hurler Peter Tenorio in the strikeout race by fanning nine Patriots and was on pace for more before he made an untimely exit from the game when he caught a line-drive with his ear midway through the fourth inning.

OL’ACES 8, BRAVES 5

The Ol’ Aces took a big leap out of the bottom of the standings on Sunday when they scalped the Tanapag Braves, 8-5, to earn their third win of the season and surpassed the Red Sox (3-12) and the Pirates (2-10).

Roky Matagolai pitched a complete-game eight hitter and fanned nine for the Aces on the mound and cranked out an RBI single at the plate, while big hitter Kevin Yamada went 1-for-2 with a double and a plate crossing.

First baseman Caleb Arriola was perfect with the swat stick after smacking a pair of singles and drove in a run for the Ol’Aces and his teammates in the field held the Braves long enough to get the win.

JUNIOR LEAGUE

PIRATES 18, COMETS 3

Ofero Taitano and the Pirates were relentless in their 18-3 beat down over the Comets as they cruised to a perfect 6-0 record atop the Junior League at Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.

Taitano allowed five hits and fanned 11 through seven innings on the mound and went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in at the plate to lift the Pirates, but there were a number of his teammates who smacked the ball around the park.

Eric Tenorio went 3-for-5 with three ribbies and a pair of triple, Donovan George went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, and Josh Jones 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, drove in a run, and stole four bases.

The loss dropped the Comets to 0-7 on the season, but the black and blue crew still had an enjoyable day at the diamond despite the loss.

SENIOR LEAGUE

MARLINS 5, AZTECS 3

The Marlins recovered from their 24-19 loss on Saturday to eke out a 5-3 upset win over the Aztecs on Sunday as the Senior Leaguers battled on Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.

Keoni Pua did most of the work on the hill as the pitcher allowed three runs off of four hits and fanned five through 5 1/3 innings before Tako Camacho cleaned up in the final 1 2/3.

Camacho went 1-for-2 at the plate with a base hit, but third baseman Vince Concepcion picked up the slack with a perfect 2-for-2 performance that net a pair of singles. Outfielder Ben Leon Guerrero went 1-for-4 with an RBI single and stole a base but Jonathan Pangelinan started the scoring early.

Pangelinan got the Marlins on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI double and they added three more in the second before scratching out their final tally in the third for all of the runs that they would need to get the win.