Babauta, Reusora take MVP plums

The JPO Enforcers? Ethan Babauta poses with his Finals MVP trophy during the awards ceremony for the Junior League division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball last Saturday at the Francisco ?Tan Ko? Palacios Ballfield. Joining him in the photo are SLLB officials Vinnie Sablan, left, and Annie Flores, and Mike Babauta, second left, sales and marketing manager of league sponsor Saipan World Resort. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

The Red Sox’s Delin Reusora and the Enforcers’ Ethan Babauta split the MVP awards in the Junior League division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball.
Reusora was named regular season most valuable player for topping four categories, while Babauta was selected Finals MVP for helping the Enforcers lift the Junior League championship trophy.

The Red Sox outfielder was named runs and doubles champion after collecting 19 and six, respectively. He also ruled the triples race, tying Babauta, as both players earned three triples. In the RBI race, Reusora was all alone at the top spot with his 16.

Babauta, on the other hand, notched his second trophy during the awards ceremony for the Junior League last Saturday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield after being adjudged Finals MVP in their 8-4 title win over the Comets. He scored two doubles, one run, and two RBIs in the championship game. The Finals MVP started out at third base for the Enforcers, before taking the mound from Virgil Secharmidal at the top of the seventh and last inning. Babauta went on to give up three walks in his stint at the mound, but redeemed himself when it counted the most, as his 1-3 putout play on Franco Masga stranded two Comets runners and ended the game for the Enforcers.

Besides Babauta, two other Enforcers players also claimed trophies during the awards ceremony. Kier Agda, who was the Enforcers starting pitcher in the finals, was crowned ERA king for his field-best 0.64 ERA, while fellow pitcher Secharmidal ruled the strikeouts category with his 33.

Completing the individual awardees in the Junior League were the Falcons’ Benen Iguel and the Fielders’ Donovan Ada. Iguel was named batting champion for averaging .500, while Ada was the winner in the home run category, drilling the lone homer in the season.

In the team awards, dethroned champions Red Sox took the best sportsmanship trophy, while the Enforcers were awarded with medals for their pennant win in the division. The Enforcers finished the double-round robin regular season with a 9-1 record, absorbing their lone loss at the hands of the Comets. The pennant and league champions are coached and managed by Lawrence Camacho, Ray Pangelinan, and Lloyd Tarope and supported by House Speaker Joseph Guerrero (IR-Saipan), Rep. Mario Taitaino (Ind-Saipan), and Senate floor leader Ray Yumul (Ind-Saipan).