Angels move closer to SML title

The St. Michael’s Angels mustered a four-run rally in the eighth inning to pull off a 9-7 win against the Tan Holdings Brewers in Game 3 of their best-of-five finals series in the 2011 Saipan Major League on Friday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.

The Angels are now ahead in the short series, 2-1, and will try to end the championship showdown tonight at 6:30pm.

Down at 5-7 at the bottom of the eighth, Mike Iguel ignited the Angels’ rally with a leadoff single and was driven in by Jesus Iguel an out later. Then Peter Tomokane delivered an RBI double before scoring himself to tie the game off an error, 7-7. Tomokane saw daylight from third base and made a break to the plate. He got a good jump, but incidentally, the outfield throw home sailed over the head of Brewers’ catcher Manny Sablan.

The Angels did not stop there, as Dave Camacho stepped in next and ripped another base hit and trotted home soon after off the go-ahead single by Taisacan.

The pennant champion won Game 3 despite facing an early six-run deficit.

The Brewers broke the ice with a run in the top of the third inning off a base rip by Asap Wabol that drove in John Taitano and then took a 6-0 lead in the fifth frame. They loaded the bases off three hits and kept it going with an RBI single by Kevin Kapileo, followed by Byron Kaipat’s two-RBI smash. Kaipat scored soon after off an error.

The Angels answered in the bottom frame with a four-run tear, starting with a two leadoff errors and a pair of walks, which set up a two-RBI base hit by Peter Tomokane and an RBI single by Benwachi Taisacan.

Brewers drew a blank to start the sixth where both teams opted for pitching changes. The Angels tapped Franco Flores for Dung Tenorio, while Kapileo relieved Vince Cepeda for the Brewers.

The Brewers still led, 7-5, after the seventh, as Kaipat hammered a one-out double in the top half and made it around off errors. The Angles got it back in the bottom from a drive by Roy Celis that brought home Tomokane.

Brewers then stranded runners at first and second to start the eighth inning and the Angels’ bats awoke in the bottom frame where they stole the lead off six hits in the clutch. The Brewers would give up one more hit for the late meltdown and folded 1-2-3 in their final stand.

Tomokane batted 2-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs and a base on balls for the Angels. Taisacan swang 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a base on balls, and a stolen base, while Celis went 3-for-5 with an RBI.