Saipan tops Little League District tournament

TINIAN—The all-stars from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota each went head to head last week in the 8th Annual District Little League Championship in Tinian, but it was the team from Saipan that qualified for the Asia-Pacific Regional Baseball Tournament in Guam, defeating Rota in the championship game by a score of 11-1.

On the strength of strong arms on the mound and big sticks at the plate, Saipan won all five of their games in the tournament, outscoring their opponents by a combined 69- 7.

In the games that led up to the final, Saipan first beat Tinian 10-0, followed by a 19-4 romp over Rota. Tinian and Rota split a pair of games between themselves before Saipan returned to the mix, beating Tinian 14-0 and Rota 15-2.

The grounds crew did a terrific job in getting the field ready for the tournament. After all of the foul weather that has been bombarding the CNMI, the facility that was built strictly for Little League baseball looked great.

Justin Alexander dominated opposing batters in the final game, pitching a no hitter, for Saipan. The big “A” looked cool, calm and collected, throwing 81 pitches and striking out nine batters in six innings of work.

“I was kind of happy as I was about to throw the last strike. I was laughing and I was excited. I was kind of nervous in the beginning, but then it went away and I did my best,” said the winning pitcher.

Alexander credited his catcher Ike Aldan, saying that he had the best performance on the field by telling him exactly where to throw the ball. It also helps that the two were able to develop a chemistry while teammates for the Tanapag Braves.

While Alexander took ownership of the plate when he was on the mound, he didn’t have the same success when he picked up the bat, but that’s what the rest of the team was for. Team Saipan got off to a slow start but they were able to get the job done for their ace, scoring 11 runs off of 15 hits.

Leading the charge was Cameron Ser Nicolas, going 4-for-4, scoring three times and batting in a run. Ser Nicolas said that he felt very comfortable at the plate and that it was just a matter of where he wanted the ball to go.

“He was pitching really well to me, so by the time he put it in the middle, I just went for it and then I directed it into the gaps so I could get on base.”

Ser Nicolas credited the entire team with added emphasis on the offense in their ability to bring the runs home and not squandering their opportunities.

“Our batting helped us out the most today. We were hitting the ball and we kept on bringing each other in, making RBI’s.”

A regular contributor to the clutch-hitting club, Anthony Tenorio smacked a pair of doubles en route to a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, scoring twice and knocking in a run.

In order to get an RBI, you must first have players on base to bring home. That’s just what Donovan George was able to do all game long. Along with Ser Nicolas, he reached base successfully in every at bat, scoring twice while going 3-for-3 with a triple and a walk.

“We played double headers on Thursday and Friday and then the championship today. Five games, five wins. It’s fun because the kids have prepared for this. They’ve been wanting to get this done and hopefully go to Guam and now they’ve accomplished it. They’re on their way now. I’m really happy for them,” said team manager Anthony Benevente.

There were a number of star performances by the boys of Saipan both in the field and at the plate. In the opening game against Tinian, pitcher Anthony Rogolifoi struck out every batter on the team at least once, totaling 13 in all en route to his no hitter.

In the same game he received support from a pair of Tenorio’s as both Anthony and Eric hit homers to electrify their team.

Their next game was a match up with Rota, and pitchers Anthony Tenorio and Phillip Manalo joined forces to strike out 12 batters in six innings, allowing only six hits. On the offensive side, there was a home run hitting contest for Saipan as Tenorio hit his second of the tournament, Alexander went yard, Eric Tenorio sent his second to the sea and Manalo tattered.

It was more of the same the second time around between Saipan and Tinian as Ser Nicolas and George blanked the blue allowing a measly two hit and 11 strikeouts. Anthony Tenorio picked up where he left off by creating two more souvenirs; hitting homers three and four for the tourney and Ser Nicolas helped his own cause by mirroring Tenorio’s feat.

In the last game before the final, Saipan routed Rota, thanks to strong pitching from David Camacho and Ofero Taitano. The twosome allowed two runs off of two hits and struck out four in four innings of work.

On the other side of the plate, Ser Nicolas sent the outfielders back, back, back, back with his third homer and R-Jay Joe got his chance to circle the bases as well.

Players from all over this part of the world will be coming to Guam for the Asia-Pacific Regional for the Major division that will be held from Thursday, July 22, through Thursday, July 29.

“Stateside players have to play five different tournaments before they get to the World Series, and this is our opportunity to come from the Northern Islands. Team Saipan, you are heading to Guam, not to represent Saipan, but you’re representing the entire Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands,” said District Administrator James Ada.

“It feels good, it feels really good. I’m excited to go to Guam and represent the CNMI with my team,” said Eric Tenorio.

The finest ball players from the CNMI, Guam, the Philippines, New Zealand, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taipei and Malaysia will vie for a chance to represent the region in the World Series.

If you have any questions about how the local team is going to fare in the face of some of the stiffest competition that they’ve seen yet, have no fear. Just ask CNMI first baseman Cameron Ser Nicolas, and he’ll tell you, “We’re gonna do great!”

If you are interested in further information about the Little League World Series, go online and visit www.littleleague.org.