Ol’Aces stump Senior Leaguers

The Ol’Aces have a slew of sluggers and a pair of pitchers propelling them toward the pennant in the Senior League, but the rest of the teams are determined to wrest a piece of the first-place pie from the Saipan Little League Baseball Association’s top squad.

At 3-1, the Ol’Aces are just a shade less than perfect, but they possess one of the most powerful offenses on the market with six of the Top 14 hitters in the league. Jesse Borja is the cream of the Aces’ crop with a .556 batting average, but he is joined by Nunu Kapileo (.429), William Fleming (.417), Shane Yamada (.400), Jess Iguel (.357), and Joel Satur (.300) on the happening hit list.

Fleming leads the league with two triples and shares the lead with Kapileo with five runs batted in, while Iguel is second in the league with seven runs scored. The difference is that Iguel is also one of the league’s top pitchers with a 3.65 earned run average and nine strikeouts though nine and two-thirds innings. Yamada has him beat with a 2.80 ERA and a flawless 1-0 record in 10 innings of work, and the tandem looks to continue bringing home the wins.

The Hustlers are in second place, but they have yet to lose in two outings. They don’t have any players on the list of standouts, but that is largely because they have played the fewest games of all of the teams. They are bound to crack the list in the coming weeks.

At 1-2, the Aztecs are locked in a four-way tie for third place, but they have the league’s current strikeout king in hurler Nicolas San Nicolas. With 19 fans through nine and a third innings, the kid needs to have James Earl Jones come out of the dugout for each “K” and announce “You are now watching NSN.”

The Falcons are a 1-2 hopeful with a punch at the plate and on the mound as they have four sluggers and the top pitcher in town. Sean Igitol and Juan Tenorio Jr. share .417 batting averages, and Drew Magofña (.400) and Jerome Mira (.333) pick up the slack with the swat stick.

On the other side of the plate Marley Techur leads the league with a ridiculous 0.00 earned run average and 17 strikeouts through eight and a third innings of work in parts of two games.

While the Falcons have the top pitcher, the Marlins have the top hitter in Jonathan Pangelinan. Pangelinan has a .667 batting average to lead his team and the league, but Vince Concepcion (.444) and Keoni Pua (.333) add plenty to the big fish slugfest.

All they need is a big pitcher to steady their season, but they don’t grow on trees.

The Fielders are also riding the 1-2 train, and they have the third most successful hitter in Thorn Sablan, who sports a .444 batting average in nine trips to the plate. While his numbers are not the most impressive, Kevin Babauta’s 9.11 ERA through three games is good enough for the fifth lowest in the league.

Babauta has worked harder than any other slinger with 12.1 innings atop the hill in parts of three games. If his teammates can generate more “O” the Fielders can add a few more Ws to their record.