2023 BASA MVP’s and awardees announced

Man Amigos’ Joey Dela Cruz holds his MVP trophy during the awards ceremony of the 2023 Budweiser Belau Amateur Softball Association League at the DanDan Softball Field last Sunday.(LEIGH GASES)

The MVP’s of the 2023 Budweiser Belau Amateur Softball Association League were announced during the championship awards ceremony held at the DanDan Softball Field last Sunday.

Joey Dela Cruz, first baseman of the championship team Man Amigos, won the men’s division MVP, while Angel Deleon Guerrero, pitcher of the women’s division championship team Lady Blue Jays, won the women’s division MVP award.

For Deleon Guerrero, she said of her award, “​​Softball has been a part of my life since I was a young child. Receiving the MVP award was such a remarkable achievement. I feel incredibly fortunate and appreciative, especially for the women I’ve played with this season. I was able to perform the way I did because of their greatness and skills.”

Lady Blue Jays’ Angel Deleon Guerrero shows off her MVP trophy of the 2023 Budweiser Belau Amateur Softball Association League during the awards ceremony after the championships last Sunday at the DanDan Softball Field.(LEIGH GASES)

“We also wouldn’t have made it as far without our coaches who understood the importance of balancing making the game fun, but serious. Last, but never least, I give thanks to Jesus!” she added.

The BASA board first announced the team awards with Man Amigos taking home the men’s division title and the Lady Blue Jays sweeping the women’s division.

The men’s division runner-up went to Peleliu, while the women’s division runner-up went to the Hot Shots.

After, the men’s division regular season champions Sufa was awarded for their 8-2 top seed record; the regular season runner-up went to Peleliu for their 7-3 record; third place went to Asahi; the Sportsmanship Award went to team Tuturamz; and the regular season MVP went to Sufa’s Audie Maratita.

In the women’s division regular season awards, the Lady Blue Jays won the pennant; the runner-up went to the Hot Shots; third place went to the Lady Legals; the Sportsmanship Award went to Lady Sufa; and the regular season MVP went to Kiana “Baby K” Camacho.

Individual awards were also given to the top players of the season.

The batting champion in the men’s division was Man Amigos’ Eric Palacios who went 21 for 27 at-bats for a .778 batting average.

In the women’s division, Kiana Camacho was the batting champion with a .607 average from 17 out of 28 at-bats.

The men’s runs scored champion was a tie between Wazzup’s Joe Lizama and Hagu La’mun’s Dennis Cruz with 20 each.

Kiana Camacho and Tiah Camacho were tied for first in the runs scored category with 12 each.

The doubles champion in the men’s division was Hagu La’mun’s Tim Wesley with 10; and Kiana Camacho won again with five doubles.

The triples champion was Aimeliik 1 Time’s Ben Higgins with four and Hot Shots’ Mardina Kaipat won with three.

The most home runs went to Maratita with nine, while the Lady Blue Jay’s Rachel Salalila won with four.

Maratita also won the RBI champion award with 30, while Kiana Camacho completed her trophy haul with 14 RBIs.

On Kiana Camacho’s achievements, she said “It’s unbelievably incredible to receive such amazing achievements because they validate us and help us feel more confident. This season felt so fast but it was great playing with the best players in the league and making more memorable moments.” 

She did acknowledge that “some of us are overly focused on the outcome, a perfect season, maintaining an unbeaten streak. It can be emotionally draining. You become solely focused on not ruining the streak but really I’m more focused on playing the game of my life.”

The pitching leaders were awarded with Tokahao’s Eric David winning the earned run average award at only 2.63 per game. In the women’s division, Deleon Guerrero won with a 2.74 ERA.

The last award—the strike-out champion—went to Aimeliik 1 Time’s Ken Kaipat with 33, while the Hot Shots’ Janice Celis won with 36.