Rangers ride roughshod over Masters, 8-3

The Ford Rangers locked hubs and shifted into four-wheel drive early on Wednesday night as they rolled over the Freedom Air Masters 8-3 with a combination of strong pitching and clutch hitting in continuation of the 2005 edition of the Saipan Major League.

Jerome Delos Santos drove in the eventual game winning run in the bottom of the fourth inning when he singled in speedy Bob Lizama from second for the Rangers’ fourth score, and starting pitcher J.P. Flores managed the Masters the majority of the way to pick up the win from the hill at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.

Flores threw six innings of four-hit, three-run baseball to stifle the Masters, and fanned four along the way before Chris Nelson took the ball to finish the final three with only a hit and a walk to mar the veneer. The anchorman read off a pair of K’s to the Masters to pick up the save.

Catcher Joey Dela Cruz called every pitch from behind the plate from the tandem, and hit a couple as well during the win to finish the day 2-for-5 with a pair of singles, two runs batted in, and a run scored. Star pitcher and agile outfielder Roy Celis also went 2-for-5 at the plate with a pair of singles and a run scored, but the rocket added a stolen base to his stats.

The Ford hit parade continued with the talents of free swinging John Reyes, who went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles, and RBI, two plate crossings, and a stolen base for the Rangers. The commissioner of the newly launched Tee-Ball League led by example in the field, as did first baseman Fred Kaipat, who went 1-for-2 with an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Rangers their fifth score of the night. Kaipat his eyes do the work in lieu of his swing as he garnered a pair of walks.

Despite the loss, hurler Kaleb Dulei pitched a solid game for the Masters by SML standards, allowing eight runs off of 12 hits, fanning eight and walking six. Had he received a little more run support, Dulei’s outing could have earned him a notch in the left side of the win-loss column.

After taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, the Rangers scored a run in the fourth and a pair in the fifth to extend their advantage to 6-0. The Masters finally used their bats for hitting in the top of the sixth when Reno Celis hit a two-run triple to bring home Manny Tenorio and Ben Mesa. Celis later came home on an errand pitch to score their final run.

Another tally in the bottom of the seventh and the eighth put an end to the scoring for the Rangers, who trail only the Northern Yankees and Miller Lite Brewers for total runs scored with 82.

The Rangers pulled a full game ahead of the Northern Yankees and into sole possession of first place with their sixth win of the season, while the Master slid into a tie for last place with the San Antonio Mets at 1-6.