Braves, Comets down opponents

A Braves pitcher delivers to a McDonald’s batter during their first meeting in the Majors division of the SLLB at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Braves and Comets recorded contrasting wins in the Majors division of the 2016 Saipan Little League Baseball last Sunday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.

The Comets eased past the Ol’Aces in the first game, 13-2, while the Braves pulled off an 8-6 triumph over McDonald’s in the second match.

Tristan Norita led the Braves’ win, as he scored three RBIs, including a two-run homer at the bottom of the third inning that gave his team a 6-5 lead. Norita was 2-for-3 at bat and also made one of the two runs in the fifth inning to seal the victory for the Braves.

Norita earlier had an RBI double and reached home off a McDonald’s error at the bottom of the first for the Braves’ 2-1 advantage. Ton Acosta had an RBI single for McDonald’s at the top of the first, while Dillon Santos hit a two-RBI double and their team got two more runs off the Braves’ miscues in the second inning to grab the lead, 5-4. The Braves’ two other runs in the second inning came off Ignacio Santos’ RBI single and Isidro Cabrera’s sacrifice out.

The seesaw battle continued in the third with Norita putting the Braves on the lead anew, 6-5, as his homer also drove Angelo Igitol home. McDonald’s then forced a tie in the fourth inning off Lily Podziewski’s run before the Braves broke the deadlock in the fifth with Norita and Heath Camacho scoring from their foes’ errors.

The Braves never relinquished the driver’s seat after that as relief pitcher A.J. Johnson struck out two batters in the last inning and McDonald’s was called for a 1-2-3 inning. Johnson, who came in for Camacho late in the second inning threw a one-hitter and got seven strikeouts.

In the other game last Sunday, the Comets made up for their slow start, scoring all 13 runs in the last four innings to beat the Ol’Aces and keep their record perfect after 10 games.

The Comets failed to hit the board in the first two innings before firing four runs each in the third and and fourth tallying three and two in the fifth and sixth. Reid Teregeyo and Bing Nakamura had three runs apiece, while Ross Arriola and Sab Saures added two each. Justin Magofna, R.J. Muna, and Javen Aldan also reached for the Comets.

The Ol’Aces, on the other hand, drew their two runs off a solo homer from Nathan Aizon and Ken Kaipat, who made it home off a wild pitch.

In other results over the weekend, the Comets registered their ninth victory against the Little Legals, 5-3, while the Twins and Falcons prevailed against IT&E Regulators, 6-5, and McDonald’s, 17-0, respectively.