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U18 CNMI Baseball Team splits first 2 games in Palau
The U18 CNMI National Baseball Team poses for a photo before their game in Palau for the 2023 Palau-CNMI Goodwill Baseball Event.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
The U18 CNMI National Baseball Team that went to Palau for the 2023 Palau-CNMI Goodwill Baseball Event split its first two as of Wednesday last week.
The Junior Nationals went 1-for-1 as they first lost to the more experienced Palau Men’s National Team, 0-5, last Tuesday, but came back and won against Palau’s U19 Junior National Team, 2-1, in their second game last Wednesday.
In stunning fashion, J.R. Suel hit a walk-off base hit that broke the 1-1 tie in extra innings.
Albert Adriano made the first run in the bottom of the first inning and it was a 1-0 game all the way to the top of the fifth, when Palau tied the game 1-1.
Suel then brought in the winning run as Joel Borja rounded the bases and grabbed the W for the CNMI team in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The U18 CNMI National Baseball Team won against Palau’s U19 Junior National team last Wednesday in the 2023 Palau-CNMI Goodwill Baseball Event in Palau.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
The CNMI team began their campaign last Monday and played their last game on Friday. It was the first time the Junior National Team has played in an international tourney and as far as manager Joey Dela Cruz is concerned, the team has been playing exceptional baseball out there.
The U18 National Baseball Team, along with Adriano, Suel, and Borja, include Justin Camacho, Kazu Dela Cruz, Joel Deleon Guerrero, Derence Diaz, Jon Diaz, Achilles Evangelista, Angelo Igitol, Charles McDonald III, Benjamin Palacios, Jylon Sablan, and John Peter Sablan.
The team manager is Joey Dela Cruz and the coaches are Mike Cruz and Jeremiah Suel, while Vicente Palacios is the statistician.
The team is set to return home from their tourney today.
The Junior National Team has the final rounds of the 2023 Tan Holdings-Saipan Baseball League season to look forward to when they get back, then they will have a tournament versus the University of Guam Tritons team, which is temporarily slated from July 25 to 30 on Saipan.
Results of their Thursday and Friday games will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.
