Back-to-back for Padres

Padres players and coaches flash the No. 1 sign after beating the Fielders, 7-1, in the finals of the Big League division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball last Thursday night at the Francisco ?Tan Ko? Palacios Ballfield. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

The Padres retained the Senior League championship after downing the Fielders, 7-1, in their winner-take-all finals in the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball last Thursday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.
Eventual Finals MVP A.J. Lizama came in relief for Lancaster Secharmidal in the last three innings and threw a no-hitter to help the Padres clinch back-to-back division crowns. On offense, his shot in the fourth inning drove two runners home and gave the Padres more cushion against the erratic Fielders.

Ahead by only two after three hits, 3-1, Lizama batted fourth on top of the Padres’ lineup at the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and runners on second and third. He made contact with the ball, which rolled past Fielders first baseman Ian Rogolifoi, allowing runners Steven Cabrera and Secharmidal to reach home plate. The Fielders’ Davin Ada then tried to recover the ball from deep rightfield and when he did he made an errant throw with the ball hitting the fence near the leftfield. Lizama capitalized on the miscue and ran home, giving the Padres their third run in that inning, while T.J. Sablan made it fourth when he also reached home off a Ray Tenorio single for a 7-1 lead.

The score remained unchanged in the last three innings with Lizama playing steady from the mound and his teammates also neutralizing the Fielders. Lizama started his shift at the top of the fifth with a walk on Ian Rogolifoi, who later stole second base.

However, the Fielders big hitter was stranded, as Padres catcher Daniel Smith caught a foul ball from his counterpart Quinson Blas and Lizama struck out the next two batters.

The Fielders’ miseries continued in the last two innings, as they went 1-2-3 in both frames. Ton Muna returned to the dugout off a 4-3 putout play at the top of the sixth, while Vince Muna and Cody Kaipat flied out to second and leftfield, respectively. At the top of the last inning, the Fielders were called for another 4-3 putout play on leadoff batter Fermin Renguul, while A.J. Lizama struck out second batter Jose Lizama to move the Padres one out away from securing back-to-back championships. The Padres closer then got the first strike on Rogolifoi, who came up with an empty swing before letting go of two fly balls from the former. On A.J.
Lizama’s fourth pitch, Rogolifoi hit his target, but the shot was short and Padres second baseman Tenorio picked it up and threw to Jordan Taitano at first base to seal the title defense win for their team.

The Padres were awarded the championship trophy at the conclusion of the match, while other team and individual top performers were also recognized.

Secharmidal was named regular season and also took home the most runs award, while A.J. Lizama also bagged his second individual plum after ruling the batting race. Fielders pitcher Jose Lizama brought home three trophies after topping the ERA, strikeouts, and home run charts, while the Braves’ Frankie Lieto received the most RBIs trophy. In the doubles and triples categories, the winners were the Lions’ Cedric Ada and Davie Matagolai.

The Lions also took the Sportsmanship Award, while the pennant medals and trophy were given to the Braves.