SSA returns to Oleai with dud, then a bang

The weather was perfect, the field was dry, the planets were aligned, and everything was perfect last Friday night as the 2004 Men’s Island Wide Slow Pitch Softball League was ready to get back in the swing of things.

Well, everything was ready for the underhanded action of the Saipan Softball Association, but not everyone. Fadang was supposed to take on Da Boyz in the first game of the nice weather era, but not enough of Da Boyz showed up.

The delay served as just a speed bump as the Freedom Air Flyers and Buddz joined forces to provide sweet relief from the sportless doldrums that Saipan had been experiencing for weeks prior.

After trailing 8-3 going into the fourth inning, the Flyers reeled off nine runs to take the 12-8 lead that they would not surrender. Buddz managed to keep it close by scoring a run in each of the next three innings, but the game ended 12-11 in favor of the flyboys.

The game that was supposed to be third featured a battle between the Eliminators and Brotherhood. These two teams were plowing through the competition all season long with relative ease, but it was the Hood that eliminated the Eliminators 20-15.

The boys in da hood took the lead when they cranked out nine runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Whenever the Eliminators made it close, the Hood simply scored more runs.

The action continued when the league resumed on Monday, Sept. 13, as X-clusive straight molly-whopped Team Juan Santiago, 19-1. The massacre was ended in the fifth inning via the 10-run mercy rule, but not before slugger Ben Guerrero had his way with TJS pitchers.

Guerrero went 4-for-4 with a homer and a trio of singles to lead his squad of X-men en route to in 21 hit performance.

The Brotherhood returned to action in the second game of the night to battle the Flyers in a battle of the undefeateds. The Brotherhood isn’t undefeated anymore, as they gave up 24 runs off of 24 hits to drop the 24-23 decision.

The game climaxed in the bottom of the seventh inning when Hector Efraim smacked a three-run shot over the fence to end the game.

The final game of the night was more akin to an Island Mix session of batting practice than a game, as all of the Mix players scored at least once in the five inning shellacking of the Outlaws, 42-6.

Kaleb Dulei was the biggest of the stat-hounds, as he went 4-for-6 at the plate, amassed 9 RBI’s, three homers, and a double in the slaughter.

If you are interested in more information about the Saipan Softball Association, contact the President of association, Robert A. Guerrero by calling 235-1580 or 888-0215.