CNMI All-Stars try again

[B]GUAM[/B]—Yesterday‘s do-or-die game between the CNMI Major All-Stars and Guam at the Northern Region Sports Complex in Dededo was rained-out and the visitors are praying for good weather today or they have to kiss goodbye to their playoffs bid in 2011 Asia-Pacific Major Division Regional Championship.

The CNMI and Guam were scheduled to play at 11:30am, but early rain stalled the start up. Tournament organizers scattered to cover up the infield with tarps and vacuumed water from the outfield, but more rain fell, forcing them to move the game to the other field.

Over at the playable field, Thailand slugged in out with Singapore and the latter won, 11-3. The game was originally set for 11am, but was also halted by rain and finished past 1pm, forcing the CNMI and Guam to wait for more than two hours to start their important match.

However, the two rivals only played the top half of the first inning with the CNMI shutting out Guam. The Commonwealth strikers never had a chance to bat, as heavy rains started falling again.

Organizers were set to meeting last night to decide the schedule of the CNMI-Guam tiff and it is likely to be held this morning. Before yesterday’s rained-out game, organizers originally scheduled two semis games this morning, but it may be moved to afternoon to give way to the CNMI-Guam tussle.

The CNMI holds a 1-2 record, while Guam has a 2-1 mark. A CNMI win will advance the team to the semifinals against Pool A top finisher Chinese-Taipei (5-0).

Since the first inning of the CNMI-Guam game was not completed, the match will start in the first inning, again. If it rains anew and the game fails to finish, Guam automatically advances to the next round.

With the CNMI facing a possible double-header today if it wins over Guam, the Commonwealth coaching staff said that the team understands the situation and is prepared to compete no matter what.

“We are a little disappointed because the players are very anxious get out there and take on Guam, but we will rest and be ready again this morning. We can’t do anything about the double-header situation, so we will take it one game at a time. It’s better to have a double-header than end our ride two games early,” head coach Randall Aguon said.

Meanwhile, two more matches were completed yesterday. Defending champion Chinese-Taipei run ruled Indonesia, 14-0, to sweep Pool A, while Korea (4-0) shut out the Philippines, 10-0, to top Pool B. In the semifinals, Korea will face Pool A’s No. 2 finisher, which will only be determined once the New Zealand vs. Australia game is completed today.

Australia will play a make up match against New Zealand this morning. Australia must win to force a three-way tie with Singapore and Thailand for second place in Pool A. New Zealand and Indonesia are out of the running with their 1-3 and 0-5 records, respectively. If Australia loses, then Thailand will advance over Singapore based on the head-to-head tiebreaker rule. In case of a three-way tie, the winner will decided by the teams’ runs scored ratios.