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Toyota takes SML opener over Masters
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Posted on Feb 26 2006
The Toyota nine took the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field by storm yesterday as they rallied from a 3-2 deficit early on to take the Saipan Major League season opener in 6-5 thriller that went down to the wire.
Clint Quitugua was a force atop the mound for Toyota as the hurler allowed three runs off of three hits and fanned seven through seven innings before Jonathan Camacho took the hill in clean up duty.
It wasn’t quite that simple for Camacho, as last season’s ace of aces gave up a pair of runs in the final innings, but the king of K’s managed to close the deal to pick up the first save of the season.
The pitching combo got plenty of support from the offensive unit as designated hitter Bruce Norita drove in a pair of runs off of a pair of singles to lead his squad with a 2-for-4 outing at the plate.
Norita wasn’t the only hitter who posted solid numbers at Tan Ko as all-star catcher Manny Sablan went 2-for-4 with a single and a double, while second baseman Jess Mesa set fire to his swat stick with a single and a three-bagger.
Toyota got off on the right foot by scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead, but they lost their advantage in the bottom of the third as the Masters scored three runs off of timely hits and miscues.
The T-men evened the score in the top of the fifth when Norita singled in Mesa and the teams exchanged runs down the stretch before Camacho sealed the deal in the bottom of the ninth by getting Manny Tenorio to ground out to short.
If there was ever a season to take notice of the SML, the 2006 edition of hardball in Oleai would be it as the top players from Saipan look to make an impression on the all-star selection committee that will pick the CNMI’s hometown team for this summer’s Micronesian Games.
