SBL teams 2, UOG 1 in baseball friendship tourney

SBL All Stars pitcher Jason Reyes delivers a pitch to University of Guam Tritons player Kyle Martinez rduring Game 1 of the 2023 SBL-UOG Baseball Friendship Tournament last Thursday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Baseball Field. (LEIGH GASES)

July showers held off long enough for the 2023 SBL-UOG Baseball Friendship Tournament to get started last Thursday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Baseball Field.

The delayed tourney completed three games by last Saturday night, as the Saipan Baseball League teams Cardinals and Junior Nationals racked up a win each, while the Tritons stole a win against the SBL All Stars.

The first game on Thursday went to the Tritons after they just slipped past the All Stars team in a last-inning rally, 4-3.

The All Stars home team speckled the rain-glistened field with their colorful uniforms from the teams they represent in the SBL league, and pitcher Jason Reyes started the game off with a 1-2-3 inning.

Tritons pitcher Larry Flores II returned the favor and shut down the All Stars’ first three batters as well. The Tritons then struck first as Saipan grown, UOG second baseman Antonio Norita, broke onto the scene with a leadoff single in the third—much to the delight of his family and supporters in the crowd.

Norita was then given two free passes to advance to second and third base from All Stars catcher’s passed balls, then scored on a single by O’Neil Yobech.

The All Stars were then subsequently shut down by Flores II as they went seven scoreless innings, with only five hits. When it seemed like the All Stars’ debut would be a bust, they scored three runs in the eighth inning.

Virgil Secharmidal led the offensive as he connected for a lead off base hit. He then stole second base and was in prime position for Angel Palacios who brought him home on an RBI single for their first run. Palacios then scored the second run after Isiah Lizama got a pinch-hit single and made the third run after a single by Josenio Alvarez.

The Tritons came back though in the last inning and it was lights out for the All Stars when they took the lead by just one run.

Against the undefeated Cardinals on Friday, the Tritons lost in a run-frenzy, close 14-15 game.

The Cardinals showed the Tritons why they lead the SBL league and are undefeated as they welcomed the Tritons with a 7-run first inning.

The Cardinals pummeled Tritons pitcher Kobe Martinez with back-to-back runs from the top of their lineup, to the bottom, while Cardinals pitcher Jonah Flores held his ground.

Later in the game, three more pitchers will come out for the Cardinals to try and fan out the flames that the Tritons started in the third inning.

By the fourth inning, the Tritons were down by just two runs, 6-8, but the Cardinals started their offense again and put up five for a good 7-run lead cushion.

However, the Tritons’ heart of the order put up four runs in the sixth inning from a run by Jathan Muna-Barnes, Kyle Martinez, Andrew Perez, and Gage Lim, to cut down the Cardinals lead by three runs.

The Cardinals then scored one run in the sixth from a Tritons’ fielding error that allowed Jordan Suel to score, then the Tritons breathed ever closer down the Cardinals’ necks as they scored four runs by the eighth inning for a tie, 14-14 game.

For all the marbles and the undefeated title on the line, the Cardinals’ Suel scored the go-ahead run on passed balls by Tritons catcher Kyle Martinez in the eighth inning and won by one run, 15-14.

On Saturday, the young guns of the Junior Nationals claimed a 7-5 win over the Tritons.

The CNMI youngsters played with grit and sound fundamentals as they outplayed some of Guam’s national team players during the 2022 Pacific Mini Games.

The Junior Nats struck first as J.R. Suel scored the first run of the game.

The Tritons’ offense only came to life in the middle to the last stretch of the game, but by then, the Junior Nats had already scored their seven runs.

Three runs were made in the third inning from the top of the Junior Nats’ order as Joell Borja, Suel, and Achilles Evangelista scored, while the bottom of the lineup produced in the fourth inning. Angelo Igitol, Justin Camacho, and Jylon Sablan put up the three runs for a 7-2 lead by the fifth inning.

Only three more runs were made by the Tritons as the Junior Nats’ pitching staff made them wave the white flag and settle for the 7-5 loss.

The tourney wrapped up last night with a game against the Tritons and the All Stars, with results to be reported in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.