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7. Young pitcher shines for Brewers
The GSM Brewers needed five games in order to beat the Falcons in this year’s Saipan Baseball League finals. They will try to defend their title in the 2016 season. (Jon Perez)
Rookie pitcher Lancaster Secharmidal played like a veteran in helping the GSM Brewers complete its three-peat title bid in the 2015 season of the Saipan Baseball League.
The 19-year-old former Saipan Little League standout tossed seven innings, six in shutout fashion, as the Brewers scored a 10-1 crushing of the Falcons in the deciding game of their best-of-five title series.
Secharmidal gave up four hits while striking out nine and walking two in a superb performance on the mound capped by a finals most valuable player honors after the match. He even had 1-2-3 innings getting a lot of help from the Brewers’ defense.
The Brewers slowly pulled away and enjoyed an 8-1 lead entering the bottom of the seventh behind the superb batting of Pat Alepuyo, Diego Camacho, Nokki Saralu, Jun Rabauliman, and the reliable veteran Manny Sablan.
Roy Celis, another league veteran, closed out for the Brewers to seal their third straight title win. The game ended when he forced L.J. Norita to ground out for the final play.
The Brewers and Falcons split their elimination round games with the former scoring a 10-4 win, while the latter bounced back with an 8-5 decision.
The Brewers, also the pennant champions, dispatched the IP&E Fielders in two games in the semifinals, while the Falcons followed suit with the same result against the Saipan Stevedore Yankees.
The Brewers’ title defense bid was also threatened after the Falcons went up 2-1 after a 9-6 Game 3 win. The Brewers rallied for an 8-5 triumph in Game 4 to force the deciding match.
The Brewers completed its back-to-back title hunt last year with a 10-9 win over the Yankees in Game 4 of the finals.
