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Flashback: Multiple records for CNMI Junior All-Stars
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Posted on Aug 17 2020
Brian Camacho, seen here pitching in a 2009 file photo, scored a homer in the CNMI Junior All-Stars’ 11-9 win over Canada in the 2009 World Series in Taylor, Michigan. (Saipan Tribune)
On this day in 2009, the CNMI Junior All-Star Team made several records in the World Series in Taylor, Michigan.
The Thelma Mizer-managed squad pulled off a come-from-behind 11-9 win over Canada for the team’s second victory in the International Pool. Earlier in the first game, the CNMI All-Stars routed Italy, 13-2. The CNMI played in the World Series (Junior League) from 2001 to 2005, but in each occasion, no team had won more than one game.
The 2009 squad was also the first team to beat Canada. The Commonwealth’s three wins in the five-year span were all against countries from Europe. No squad, too from Asia Pacific had defeated Canada since 2001 before the CNMI Junior All-Stars ended that losing skid.
Before the multiple record-breaking win, the CNMI faced a 5-9 deficit after five complete innings. The Commonwealth then managed to work its way back into the game and stole the victory from Canada, thanks to LaMarc Iguel, Jeremy Rabauliman, and Brian Camacho. Iguel closed out for the CNMI and shut down the Coquitlam Little League of Coquitlam, British Columbia in the remaining innings, while Jeremy Rabauliman and Brian Camacho led the team’s offense after hitting back-to-back homers.
In this 2009 file photo, the CNMI All-Star Team players wait for the start of the raffle drawing, a fundraiser for their World Series trip in Michigan. (Contributed Photo)
Rabauliman had a three-run homer at the bottom of the first, while Camacho went solo. The pair of round-trippers were a first for the CNMI in more than a decade. The last time the team made back-to-back homers in the World Series was in 1997 when Pete Tomokane and the CNMI Big League All-Stars made it to Fort Lauderdale.
The Commonwealth sluggers went on to finish the World Series with a 2-2 record, as they lost to Aruba, 4-6, and Puerto Rico, 1-11. The team from Scottsdale, Arizona topped the 2009 World Series after beating Aruba, 9-1.
Meanwhile, besides Rabauliman, Camacho, and Iguel, other members of the notable CNMI Junior League All-Stars were Christian Mizer, Henry Rabauliman, Frankie Camacho, Ricardo Dela Cruz, Aldelbert Lizama, Brian Camacho, Alan Aguon, Jared Sablan, Patrick Tenorio, Arthur Jebehn, and Poland Masaharu. Oliver Secharmidal and Bernard Cabrera were the coaches.
