Unbeatable Patriots look to make it a dozen

It’s amazing what the Patriots have done so far this season, and the only undefeated team in the Saipan Little League Baseball Association return is looking to make it 12-for-12 this weekend when they take Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Field this weekend at the Oleai Sports Complex.

One look at the list of league leaders reads like a road map to their success as the Patriots have three of the top hitters in the game as well as the two best pitchers. Only one player in the league has a better average than Anthony Salas’ .697, and teammates Jeremy Rabauliman and Brian Camacho occupy the third and fourth spots with averages of .609 and .600, respectively.

While Salas leads the league with 21 runs scored, pitcher Joseph Palacios leads the league in preventing plate crossings with just three through 19 and two-thirds for an earned run average of 0.92. The kid is on fire, but Camacho has been just as good smoking batters as he is at smoking pitchers.

The league’s fourth-leading hitter is also its second best pitcher, as Camacho boasts a 1.27 ERA through 28.1 innings in a six-game span and 51 punch-outs. There is little question why the Patriots have been successful, but it’s just a matter of they can pull out “W’s” for the entire season.

The kids from Kagman 1-2-3 would love to put an end to the streak, and the surging team that basically plays all away games has the potential to catch the Pats off-guard. At 9-2, the homesteaders are just a couple of games back in second place, and with big hitting from diamond in the rough Marsnjo Wabol (.571) and Leroy Regis (.514), they have a chance to bring them down.

They say good pitching beats good hitting any day, and Kagman has a pair of hurlers with all the right moves in Richard Dela Cruz and Ignacio Benavente. Dela Cruz is tied with Camacho with 51 strikeouts and has a 3.46 ERA while Benavente is just a hair behind at 3.52. The duo is one of the fiercest one-two combos in the game, but Kagman doesn’t have a monopoly on powerful pairs.

The third-place Hustlers have a game in-hand at 8-2 and have a couple of weapons on both sides of the plate as slugger Anthony Manalo and multi-talented Daylinne Joseph are on a roll.

Manalo leads the league with a ridiculous .714 batting average after hitting 20-for-28, while Joseph is teaching the boys the power of a woman on the mound with a 1.64 earned run average and a perfect 3-0 record.

McGarette Dueñas hasn’t been too shabby either, and his 2.35 ERA through five games is good enough for the league’s fifth best.

There is a big drop-off from there as the next batch of teams is much closer to .500 than they would like. One of the inconsistent teams that has kept managers and parents guessing is the McDonald’s squad.

After cruising through the competition early on, the little nuggets have been on a McSlide and have fallen from first to fourth in the standings at 6-5. Only Nathan Guerrero has been able to maintain a level of consistency at the plate with a .545 batting average, but their once dominant pitching still is among the league’s best.

Brothers Patrick and Peter Tenorio have been playing strong all season, but Peter has been a step above young Patrick with a 2.17 ERA and a league leading 71 strikeouts to his sibling’s 5.63 ERA through four games.

The Tanapag Braves (6-6) and the As Matuis Twins (5-5) are consistently inconsistent, but both teams have shown more than flashes of brilliance thus far through the season. With dual threat Charito Kladikm and a bullpen full of pitchers, the Braves have a solid shot when the post-season arrives, but they are too far gone for a pennant run.

With a .528 batting average at the plate, a 4.09 earned run average, and 43 strikeouts atop the mound, Kladikm is a coach’s dream. When he’s not on the mound they also have big arms ready for action as Jotham Camacho (3.84) and Lamarc Iguel (4.04) are pitching solid ball.

The Twins don’t have the same luxury on the hill, but they are hitter heavy with Vince Castro ripping opposing slingers with a .522, and both Zachary Aldan and Diego Camacho a coin flip away from smacking the ball with identical .500 batting averages.

The best of the losing teams is also the most exciting as the Toyota Matrix have a pair of players with a penchant for power in Harry Nakamura and Rocco Reyes.

While he is a hair below .500, Reyes is always a threat at the plate and is in the running for all of the hitting categories. Nakamura is no stranger to plate work, but he has done most of his damage sending rockets between the batter’s boxes.

His 5.56 earned run average is not the best in the league, but his 70 strikeouts is just one shy of the league leader. At 4-7, the Matrix can play the role of spoiler down the wire unless they can catch the sixth place Twins.

The Red Sox (3-10), Pirates (2-8), and Ol’ Aces (1-10) have been out of the running for a while, but at least the Ol’ Aces can cheer Roky Matagolai (.520) at the plate, while the Pirates watch A. J. Taitano try to make a run with his .516 batting average.