Lamarc, Harry finally deliver shutout

With his hitters struggling early against Tinian starter Deville Maui, it was fortunate that Saipan Junior All-Stars manager Vinnie Sablan had an ace of his own in the person of Lamarc Iguel in the championship game of the 2008 CNMI Junior League District Tournament last Sunday.

And when Saipan was looking to notch its third consecutive mercy rule-shortened game, Sablan was lucky he could count on reliever Harry Nakamura to close the deal at the sun-baked grounds of the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.

Sablan and his boys were also looking to finally score a shutout against their southern neighbors after coming within a Benjie Decena RBI in their 17-1 victory in the first game Saturday.

Iguel and Nakamura—starters for their respective teams in the Saipan Junior League—provided a pitching performance to be remembered when they shut out Tinian, 11-0, in the finals.

But what’s amazing was all the hits by Tinian were of the unearned variety with the last one committed by Nakamura when he failed to catch Elmo Hoffschneider’s shallow pop-out to first base.

The error aside, Nakamura and Iguel were simply building on their success from the regular season of the Saipan Junior League.

Iguel, who played for Ol’Aces, finished with a 3.40 ERA, including 25 strikeouts, on top of a .419 batting average.

Nakamura, for his part, was simply outstanding on the mound for the runner-up Jets last season, finishing with a 2.42 earned run average, which was tops in the Junior League. He also did damage with his swing as proven by his .363 batting average.

“Lamarc and Harry pitched really well. We finally got our shutout. Tinian got on base but all were unearned so they pitched well. All the boys played as a team. This is what it’s all about,” said Sablan after the championship game.

Aside from his two aces, Sablan also commended the hitting of Peter Tenorio, especially during the beginning of the game when his boys struggled.

Sablan and company now set their sights for the 2008 Asia-Pacific Junior Regional Tournament set from June 27 to July 2 here on Saipan.

“We have to work harder for the Asia-Pacific Region since the competition will be more stiff. We will be playing more games. Teams will be here so our training will be more intense from now until then,” he said.

They will have their hands full as the respective champions of Guam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong will challenge them in the competition.