Saipan baseball leagues await field repairs

The Saipan Little League and Saipan Baseball League are now waiting for both fields inside the Oleai Sports Complex to be immediately repaired for them to plan out their respective seasons.

The right side steel fence of the Miguel Basa “Tan Ge” Pangelinan softball field needs replacement after being damaged by Typhoon Soudelor last August. (Jon Perez)

The Triple A Youth Baseball U18 League, on the other hand, was supposed to open its Fall season last month but will now be moved to next summer.

The Francisco “Tan Ko” M. Palacios Baseball Field and the Miguel Basa “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Softball Field, where the Majors division of the Saipan Little League is played, are awaiting repairs after both facilities were damaged by several typhoons.

Northern Marianas Sports Association executive director Tony Rogolifoi said the Saipan Little League could start their season as planned in January.

“All they [board, members, parents, managers, coaches, and volunteers] have to do is help us clean the debris on the fields, especially “Tan Ge” field. We need all the help that we could get,” said Rogolifoi, who is also the SBL coordinator.

NMSA, now a non-profit sports organization, is now the caretaker of the facilities inside the Oleai Sports Complex.

“We will also ask the help of the Department of Public Works and the Mayor’s Office to help us clear and move some telephone poles,” added Rogolifoi.

He said there’s a possibility that night games won’t be played at the “Tan Ko” field because the lights need to be replaced. The Saipan Little League’s Big League division plays at night every Tuesdays and Thursdays, while the SBL uses the field every Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

“Our main concern is the safety of the kids that’s why we can’t hold night games yet. But we’re working on fixing the lights,” said Rogolifoi, who added that a construction company had made a presentation using a new lighting system for the field.

“Celnaps, a construction firm, showed us new LED lights that won’t anymore use a ballast. It is much brighter and they said it would cost less on our electricity bill. They have their own electrical and construction engineers,” Rogolifoi said.

“But we must again follow the procedure of waiting for the scope of work and three firms need to bid when we open the bidding process,” he added.

Rogolifoi also reminded interested managers and coaches to attend an SBL organizational meeting on Dec. 1, Tuesday, at 5pm at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium’s conference room.

League matters like the opening of the season and schedule of games are among the issues that will be discussed.

“We need to talk about the league schedule so we won’t run into the Micronesian Baseball Classic, which Saipan will be hosting. We are also looking into a shortened season, if possible.”