CNMI saves best for last

KITAKYUSHU, Japan—The CNMI Little League All-Stars saved their best for last as they earned their only win of the 2005 Asia-Pacific Tournament against New Zealand to the sheer delight of their fan faithful at Matobaike Stadium.

While rain threatened much of the morning to provide the coolest temperatures of the weeklong event, the clouds parted for the second round of games in the afternoon long enough for the skies to shine good fortune upon the Saipan sluggers.

For the first time in the tournament the CNMI played with a lead as Nokkie Lizama jacked a two-run shot over the left field fence to drive in John Maratita in the bottom of the first inning.

Not long after, pitcher Dave Jones picked up a bat to drive in Eric Tenorio with a shot to right field that got away from the fielder and J.D. Sablan brought home Jones with a grounder to give the CNMI a 4-0 lead. By the time the inning came to a close, the CNMI went through the full nine-man lineup.

There was more of the same in the second, as Jones returned to the mound to stump the Kiwi hitters and Jonathan Tydingco led off the inning with an inside-the-park homerun. The hits kept coming as Maratita followed with a single before Lizama cranked his second homerun of the game to give the CNMI a 7-0 advantage.

“It felt good because it was the first time I have ever hit two homeruns in the same game,” said Lizama.

Lizama also said that he was happy to play so well in his final all-star game at the Major Division age level, and that he looks forward to returning to represent the CNMI as a Junior Leaguer next year.

With two swings of the bat, Lizama was 2-for-2 with two homeruns and four RBIs in the first two innings, but the god of fortune was almost too much to handle. After J.D. Sablan picked up his second RBI by driving in Jones once again, Anthony Salas brought the big first baseman across the plate a couple pitches later for a commanding 9-0. As the CNMI completed the second inning it had already gone through the line-up twice, and in an odd chain of events, the CNMI had a home field disadvantage of sorts. Rather than win by the 10-run mercy rule, they would forfeit if they scored a run in the third without getting all of its players on the field for three defensive outs and a turn at the plate, so manager Patrick Tenorio had batter after batter lay down bunts in order to seal the deal.

Rather than complain about not being able to wield the whacking stick, the players realized the situation and put the team ahead of their personal stats. When they took the field, Jones took care of ensuring that the New Zealanders didn’t break the goose egg.

“It felt good. I didn’t throw anything but fastballs on the outside corner. Usually when I push them back they choke up [on the bat], so when they swing they won’t be able to hit the ball,” he said.

Jones said that he will try to pitch better if he gets a shot at the Junior level tournament next year, and will also lose some weight. The 12-year-old is bound to grow over the course of the next 12 months, and he will be close to un-hittable of he develops his pitching to boot.

Despite losing their third game of the tournament, the New Zealanders showed that they were the class of the event by never giving up and maintaining the highest level of sportsmanship on the field.

As they did following every game, the team thanked their opponents, the fans, the officials, and each of the umpires individually before packing up their bags and heading back to the Global Arena for a well deserved rest.

Guam 5, Philippines 3

Trae Anthony Padilla Santos went the distance for Guam yesterday morning to guide his team to its third straight win of the tournament over the Philippines and all but assured the Central East champs of a trip to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania in front of an emotional crowd at Matobaike Stadium.

Guam got on the board in a hurry by scoring three runs in the first and two more in the second before Filipino pitcher Yusuke Kuroda loosened up and shut the door on the Marianas marauders, and his teammates electrified their fan faithful when they rallied for three scores in the bottom of the fourth.

Despite the rise in spirits, the Philippines eventually fell two runs shy in the tale of two lefties in which both Santos and Kuroda threw all six innings.

Hong Kong 12, Thailand 2

The beleaguered Hong Kong squad finally broke into the win column yesterday morning in a battle of 0-2 teams as they trounced Thailand 12-2 beneath a cloud-covered sky at suburban Otani Stadium.

Team manager Hiroshi Wakmatsu pulled out all the stops as Hong Kong handed the Bangkok bombers their third loss of the tournament, and his boys return to action this afternoon when they face a formidable Korean team that knocked off the crème de la crème, while Thailand takes the field against the host country in the morning when they challenge a determined Japan (2-1) team looking to rebound from Monday’s loss to Chinese Taipei.

Korea 3, Chinese-Taipei 1
The Koreans pulled off the upset of the tournament yesterday afternoon by handing Chinese Taipei its first loss at Otani Stadium in front of the entire Japanese team from Chiba City.

A day after dispatching the host country, Chinese-Taipei seemed destined for the mainland as Korea was crushed by the Nihon nightmares, 10-0, but they dropped the ball in the third inning when the squad from Seoul scored three runs off of a chain of hits. Now the fate of Japan rests in their hands, as they can earn a trip to the World Series if they can hold Thailand to less than two runs in today’s meeting at Matobaike Stadium.