Finance overpowers CUC; Beach Boys, Law & Order top opponents

Finance cashed in on Lenise Kapileo’s and Bego Camacho’s perfect hitting and Pauline Tudela’s three-run homer to take an easy 15-5 victory over the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. in the 2008-2009 Inter-Government/Business Softball League Friday night at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.

Kapileo went 4-for-4 at the plate and scored three runs. Camacho also hit 4-for-4, making two runs and one RBI.

Tudela was only 2-for-4, but blasted the lone homer in the game, driving three runners home. Tudela scored two runs.

CUC was very much in the game after one complete inning as it drew one run apiece from Pagelyn Falig, Christina Phillip, Tricia Falig, and Jenny Palacios.

Finance was leading by only two runs, 6-4, after one complete inning, but it shut out CUC in the next four innings to break the game wide open.

Rightfielder Kai Dela Cruz scored the other run for CUC at the bottom of the sixth.

Both teams played their first game in the women’s division with Finance joining opening-day winner Northern Marianas College in the win column. NMC pulled off a 17-6 upset over defending champion Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

In the men’s division, the Beach Boys and Law & Order also won their debuts.

The Beach Boys whipped the Commonwealth Health Center, 15-3.

A seven-run top of the sixth keyed the Beach Boys triumph.

After five completing innings, the Beach Boys were up by only one run, 4-3.

But successive runs from their first four batters and a two-run triple from centerfielder Harlam Reyes helped the Beach Boys widen the gap, 11-3, going into the seventh inning.

The Beach Boys closed out with a four-run top of the seventh to put more pressure to CHC, who must score at least 12 runs to send the game in extra inning.

But CHC had a shut out in the last inning to drop its first game of the season. CHC scored only at the bottom of the fifth on two unearned runs. Fernando Camacho scored the other run for CHC off a Ben Higgins single.

Catcher Stanley Aldan led Beach Boys’ victory, going 3-for-4 at the plate. He had three runs, one double, one triple and two RBIs. Steve Igisair and B.J. Sablan both went only 2-for-4, but had three RBIs apiece.

In the other game in the men’s division, Law & Order neutralized Hopwood, 18-10.

Back-to-back homers from shortstop Ben Lisua and catcher Jonas Barcinas brought Law & Order back to life after Hopwood threatened at the bottom of the sixth inning.

Law & Order was comfortably ahead, 15-2, after five-and-a-half innings when Hopwood rallied through an eight-run bottom of the sixth, moving within five, 10-15.

At the top of the seventh with two outs and Manny Tenorio on second base, Lisua blasted an over-the-fence homer. Barcinas followed it up with a solo homer to increase Law & Order’s lead to eight runs, 18-10, entering the bottom of the last.

The score remained unchanged, as Law & Order’s outfielders hustled for the ball, flying out Hopwood’s first three batters.

Barcinas, Sylvio Ada, and Derek Sasamoto had similar performance at-bat, going 3-for-4. Ada had a double and two RBIs and scored two runs.