CNMI vs Guam in gold medal game

The CNMI Baseball Team is a win away from bringing home the gold medal in the 2011 Pacific Games.

The Commonwealth sluggers earned the right to face Guam in the championship match tomorrow, following back-to-back playoff wins yesterday at the Robinson Baseball Field in Mont-Dore, New Caledonia. The Tony Rogolifoi-managed squad eked out a come-from-behind win over New Caledonia in the morning playoff match, 11-5, and less than three ours later, the CNMI shut out Palau, 8-0.

“Today (yesterday) was a great day for the CNMI. Our baseball team came here to win the gold medal and tomorrow, they will have the chance to do just that. We played two very good games today (yesterday). We will need our best tomorrow against Guam. The team is confident, and so am I,” CNMI chef de mission and NMASA president Michael White said in an email to Saipan Tribune yesterday.

The CNMI will duel archrival Guam in the gold medal game tomorrow at 10am (9am Saipan time). Tomorrow’s game is a rematch of the 2006 Micronesian Games finals which the CNMI won, 3-2. Guam edged the CNMI in their elimination round match in New Caledonia last week, 6-5.

Up against the host team and its throng of supporters, the CNMI got off to a slow start and trailed, 5-3, after three complete innings.

The CNMI sluggers drew first blood with a two-run top of the first and added one more run in the third. New Caledonia failed to score in the first inning, reached home plate in the second and came out strong in the third, making four runs to take the lead.

Franco Flores started for the CNMI, pitched for 2.2 innings and allowed the host to score three runs. Elton Santos replaced Flores on the mound midway in the third inning and the latter stopped the bleeding for the CNMI, allowing only three hits, no run, and striking out six. Ace pitcher Josh Jones came in for Santos in the seventh inning and shut out the host, giving up only one base on ball and striking three.

On offense, after an up-and-down performance in the first seven innings, the CNMI sluggers turned it on in the eighth inning, scoring six runs. Before its six-run top of the eighth, the Commonwealth bets were in a deadlock against New Caledonia after seven complete innings, 5-all.

Jesus Iguel logged three runs for the CNMI on a 3-for-5 performance at bat. Juan Maratita also scored three runs, hitting 2-for-5 and making one RBI. Manny Sablan failed to score a single run, but recorded three RBIs and was 2-for-4 at bat. Keoni Lizama tallied two RBIs despite going 1-for-5 at bat. Jerome Delos Santos, Byron Kaipat, Mike Iguel, Tyrone Omar, and Eric Tenorio made one run apiece for the CNMI.

The win over New Caledonia avenged the Commonwealth’s 2-3 loss against the host in the elimination round last week.

Rogolifoi’s wards returned to the field after a brief break and had enough juice left to squeeze an 8-0 victory over Palau.

It was the CNMI’s second win over Palau and the latter was dethroned and settled for the bronze medal. Palau lost to the Commonwealth sluggers in the elimination round, 0-1, and the erstwhile champion’s struggle continued in the important game.

After closing for the CNMI against New Caledonia, Jones started for the Commonwealth in its semis game versus Palau and gave the eventual bronze medalist another nightmare. Jones allowed only one hit and two walks in nine innings and struck out 12. In their first game against Palau, Jones had 14 strikeouts.

The CNMI and Palau were both scoreless in the first three innings, before the former got out of the slump in the next two innings, making five runs.

Kaipat put the Commonwealth on the scoreboard at the top of the fourth when he doubled to center field and brought Sablan and Maratita home.

Omar then gave the Commonwealth its third run at the top of the fifth when he doubled and reached home plate off a Palau error. Maratita was next, as he was hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third, and made it home off a throwing error from the right field. Jesus Iguel made it a 5-0 lead after scoring off yet another mistake from Palau.

In the next three innings, the CNMI slowed down, drilling one run each, but it was enough to keep the win, as Palau remained hapless on offense. Palau’s best chance to score came at the bottom of the eighth when Melngis Andre Uchel walked and advanced to second off a wild pitch. The Palau runner then attempted to run to third, but was tagged out by Maratita off a good throw from Omar from centerfield.

The loss was a heartbreaker for Palau, as it failed to advance to the finals for the second straight time. The 2007 Pacific Games champion lost to Guam last Tuesday in the first semis game, 0-4.