Falcons hand Yankees first defeat; Bears win

The Chalan Kanoa Bears players and official huddle before their game against the GSM Brewers in the 2016 Saipan Baseball League last Tuesday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Falcons made it two in a row after defeating erstwhile leader Yankees, 11-8, in the 2016 Saipan Baseball League last Wednesday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.

The Falcons, who fell short in their upset bid against defending champions GSM Brewers during the league’s opener, 6-7, before bouncing back against the Blue Jays, 14-13, collected their 11 runs from the fourth to sixth inning to edge the Yankees.

Ian Norita gave the Falcons their first run at the bottom of the fourth, as he stole home. Then in the fifth, the Falcons racked up eight runs to grab the lead, 9-5. Darren Pua, who went down on a 5-3 putout play in his first at bat, had a two-RBI single in his second to cap the Falcons’ rally. L.J. Norita, and Giovanni Mira each contributed an RBI single in the run and the Falcons got the four other runs from the Yankees’ three errors and a passed ball.

The Falcons added two more runs in the sixth off K.J. Kalen’s sacrifice out and Ian Norita’s run from a passed ball to extend the lead, 11-5. The Yankees, on the other hand, failed to light up the board for the third straight inning after scoring two and three runs in the second and third.

The Yankees then tried to rally in the closing inning, but fell short after making only three runs. Benwachi Taisacan reached off Robert Tudela’s RBI walk, while Charles McDonald’s scored off a fielder’s choice at the top of the seventh. The Yankees’ eighth and last run came in the ninth with Ben Guerrero advancing to home off a Falcons’ error with just one out. Ricky Joe Riungel, who was the Falcons’ third pitcher, got the second out when he struck out Mario Salas and shortly the game ended as Peter Tomokane flied out at right field.

With the Falcons winning, they tied the Yankees in second place with their similar 2-1 marks and the Chalan Kanoa Bears moved up to a share of first place with Titanium.

The Bears matched Titanium’s 2-0 slate after stunning the Brewers, 10-3, last Tuesday.

Jose Lizama pitched eight innings for the Bears and got 13 strikeouts. He allowed only eight hits in 34 at bats and gave up three earned runs. With Lizama on the mound, the Brewers were silent in the first four innings before gaining one run in the fifth and two in the eighth.

Peyton Lizama went only 2-for-5 for the Bears, but scored four runs and two RBIs. Jerome Delos Santos also had two RBIs off his 2-for-4 performance at bat.