Strong start for Red Sox, Dragons

The Bank of Saipan Red Sox and the Pacific Islands Club-Deloitte & Touche Dragons scored back-to-back wins last Saturday and on Monday to continue with their strong start in the 2008 season of the Majors division of the Saipan Little League at the Miguel Basa “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Field.

The two-game sweep improved the Red Sox’s record to a league-best 5-0 mark to pace the 16-team field, just one game ahead of the also undefeated Happy Market-Ol’Aces (4-0), which ended the SaipanCell Patriots’ 42-game winning streak last week.

The Dragons, meanwhile, is currently in third place tying the National Office Supply-Survivors with similar 4-1 slates.

Their win-loss records improved a lot compared to their last year’s slates where they were at the lower rung of the standings.

On Monday, the Red Sox handed the Survivors its first loss with a 13-5 decision to complete a two-game sweep of their matches.

Twins Tommy and Thomas Reyes combined for 6-for-8 in batting and four runs. Tommy also had a triple and three RBIs, while Thomas had a double and a stolen base. Jerome Reyes went 3-for-4 with three runs.

On Saturday, the Reyes trio was in full swing once again in the Red Sox’s 19-0 blanking of Hustlers II.

Thomas went 2-for-4 scoring three runs including a two-run, inside-the-park home run that highlighted the Red Sox’s eight-run second inning rally. He also had three RBIs.

Tommy went 2-for-3 scored twice, while Jerome went 2-for-2 with three runs, a triple and two RBIs.

Phillip Passi pitched two no-hit innings in relief while striking out three batters and walking one. Chris Aguon started for the Red Sox and lasted for two innings allowing three hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

The Dragons, led by Misaki Cramer’s 3-for-4 batting, used a 10-run first inning rally to cruise to a 19-9 win over the Athletics.

Cramer scored two runs had two RBIs, and a stolen base, while Andrew Johnson went 3-for-4 with three runs, a double, and two RBIs.

Nathan Camacho, Rafael Jones, and Steven Lizama shared the pitching duties for the Dragons. Camacho pitched for two innings giving up one earned run on two hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

Jones pitched one inning in relief allowing two hits with two strikeouts and four walks, while Lizama also had two hits but struck out three batters and walked two more.

On Saturday, Cramer went 3-for-3 with three runs including a triple that highlighted their 10-run third inning scoring spree as the Dragons went on a 19-9 rout of the Shell Marianas Suns.

Julian Ngeskebei only went 1-for-2 but scored two runs and three RBIs including a bases-clearing three-RBI double in the third.

Angelo Jones pitched three innings in relief and gave up six hits with two strikeouts and 10 walks.

The Dragons could have joined the Red Sox on top of the standings but they suffered a 4-6 loss to the same team on March 15.

The JPO’s Enforcers, which suffered a 1-15 crushing from the PTI Dolphins on March 15, also scored a two-game sweep of their matches ending their Easter weekend with a 9-4 triumph over the Suns.

Justin Castro pitched 2.1 innings allowing four earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and seven walks, while Patrick Somorang closed out giving up one earned run on one hit fanning three while walking three more.

On Saturday, Sid Nepaial pitched in no relief and the Enforcers used a 13-run fourth inning to cruise to 25-0 blasting of the Athletics. Nepaial allowed one hit with 10 strikeouts and two walks.

In other games, the Dolphins blitzed to a 14-5 decision over Hustlers II on Monday, while the Survivors pulled off an 11-9 victory against the Dolphins on Saturday.