Shell Marianas earns ticket to Palau

They’re at it again.

The best slow-pitch softball club in Micronesia renewed their dominance at home with a victory against the only team that defeated them this year in the 2008 Budweiser King of the Diamonds Tournament.

Shell Marianas, composed of the same players who won the crown for the past three years while wearing the colors of No Ka Oi, earned another crack at the title by walloping SaiPal, 10-2, last Sunday in the championship of the CNMI qualifier held at the Capital Hill Ballfield.

Manny Sablan went 3-for-3, while Julian Camacho and Mel Sakisat went 2-for-2 to lead Shell Marianas in the victory.

Sablan, Toi Celis, Bert Camacho, and Julian Camacho also scored runs in the top of the second inning to give Shell Marianas an early 4-0 lead.

SaiPal’s Hector Efraim charged back with a run on a base hit by Clifton Siliil in the bottom of the second.

Jerry Ayuyu, Sakisat, Manny Sablan, and Julian Camacho then reached home plate in the third inning, while Sakisat and Manny Sablan added two more in the fifth to stretch Shell Marianas lead to 10-1.

Tyrone Omar scored SaiPal’s second run in the sixth but his team could not muster enough firepower when they resumed their at-bats in the bottom of the seventh and final inning.

It marked the fourth time overall that Shell Marianas/No Ka Oi will represent the CNMI in the regional softball tournament.

The venue will shift back to Palau, which hosted the initial staging in 2005. Saipan hosted it in 2006 and Guam in 2007.

Except for two additional women, Bert Camacho and Erica Tenorio, the rest of the team’s roster had been part of that three-time defending champions.

They are Ayuyu, Sakisat, Manny Sablan, Roy Celis, Toi Celis, Julian Camacho, J.R. Suel, June Saralu, Mario Sablan, J.J. Laniyo, Ben Tagabuel, Ben Mesa, and Dave Camacho.

The two ladies, who will make their first appearance in the regional tournament, are playing for Team Sakudi in the ongoing semifinals of the Belau Amateur Softball Association League.

Camacho, who plays first base for Shell Marianas in the KOD, runs second in batting average (.600) in the BASA league.

Tenorio, meanwhile, is the catcher for Shell Marianas. She is No. 8 in batting with an average of .524 in the BASA league.

Shell Marianas team captain Sakisat likes the team’s chances in the Tournament of Champions to be held in Palau on Nov. 15-16.

“We’re the team to beat. It would be a different ballgame but we’re still confident. We have good players. We have good defense. We will go all the way again,” said Sakisat.

The players’ trip to Palau will all be shouldered by Budweiser, which also sponsored similar qualifying tournaments in Palau and Guam.

“We’ve been playing as a team for many years. We’re not really pressured,” Sakisat said.

Shell Marianas ruled the first two qualifying tournaments of the KOD, while SaiPal won the third qualifying round after upsetting Shell Marianas in the winners’ bracket of the playoffs and won again when they met in the championship last Oct. 13.

Shell Marianas this took the No. 1 spot in the Final Four, Natibu was No. 2, and SaiPal was No. 3.

Total Chaos was No. 4 as it won over SUFA, 14-11, in the wildcard qualifier on Friday night.

Shell Marianas easily established a 7-0 lead on the way to a 12-6 victory over Total Chaos in the winners’ bracket and followed this up with a 13-5 decision against Natibu to earn a twice-to-beat advantage in the championship round.

Natibu scored a 6-0 victory over SaiPal, which needed to score a 10-5 win over Total Chaos to meet Natibu anew in the losers’ bracket.

SaiPal got back at Natibu, 5-4, and earned the right to face Shell Marianas in the championship game.