Enforcers’ Agda hammers 2 homers on opening day

JPO Enforcers’ Kier Agda started off the 2012 Saipan Little League season for the Majors Division with a pair of homeruns in Game 2 of Saturday’s opening day tripleheader at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.

Agda belted two homeruns late in the match as JPO marched to an 11-2 victory over the Robert Torres Law Offices’ Kagman Little Legals.

In other results, the Rep. Joseph Guerrero Dandan Comets toppled the As Matuis Twins, 11-2, in the curtain raiser, while on Sunday IT&E bested Triple J Wholesale San Vicente A’s, 9-2, and the Twins rebounded over McDonald’s, 13-2.

Details of other games from the holiday weekend will be released later this week.

The season continues at Tan Ge Field on Saturday with the Legals taking on the Bank of Saipan Red Sox at 9am followed by JPO against IT&E at noon; then the A’s clash with the Natibu Tanapag Braves at 3pm.

Then on Sunday the Tanapag Falcons square off with the Twins 9am; McDonald’s collides with the Comets at 12pm; and the IT&E Ol’Aces host the Rep. Ray Yumul Rays at 3pm.

Both pitchers struck out the side to start the game and the visiting Comets broke the ice in the top of the second inning for a 1-0 lead over the Twins.

Ethan Babauta led off with a double and later made it home off an error, however it was locked at 1-1 after three frames after the Comets allowed a lead of walk to the plate off errors in the third inning.

The Comets regrouped quickly, however, and sparked a six-run uprising in the fourth inning.

The first three batters reached on a hit, an error, and a walk and made it all the way around off some extra throws in the infield.

Then the Twins found trouble finding the strike zone and issued a couple of free passes that set up a two-RBI triple by Aurel Mendiola; he scored himself off another error.

The Twins could only respond with one run in the bottom frame and left five runners stranded in the last two innings.

Comets’ Babauta went 4-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and four runs.

The visiting JPO’s DARE Program Enforcers gashed the Robert Torres Law Office’s Kagman Little Legals, 5-1, right out of the gate off three hits and three walks in the top part of the inning; the Legals scored off an error in the bottom half.

JPO’s Joaquin Saralu and Lloyd Tarope each bagged RBIs in the early spurt.

Then both teams traded a run in the second frame as the count shifted to 6-2.

Notably, JPO’s Saralu came to the mound to close his team’s final out of the second inning. Saralu took over for the remainder of the contest and shut down the Legals, leaving them hitless as he chalked up eight strikeouts and two walks in just three and a third innings of work.

Not that Saralu needed help, but his teammate Kier Agda belted a pair of home runs in the late innings of the game.

His first came in the fourth inning that brought Saralu of all people around with him.

Agda then led off the sixth inning with his team ahead, 10-2, when he smashed his shot over the fence. Although the Legals were a run shy of falling to the mercy rule, the game was called in favor of JPO due to time constraints.

Agda batted 3-for-4 with two homeruns, three RBIs, and another run. JPO’s Dennis Cabrera swung 3-for-4 with three runs and a stolen base.

Visiting IT&E took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but the A’s got a run back in the bottom of the second. After going 1-2-3 to start the second, IT&E shot ahead, 7-0, in the third inning. Their first four batters reached on three hits and a bean ball and scored with the help of some wild throws; the final run came in off an error.

IT&E then finished strong, adding a run in the fourth and fifth innings and going on to hold the A’s to just one run in its final stand.

IT&E’s Ivan Seo batted 2-for-3 with two runs and a base on balls.

The visiting As Matuis Twins jumped all over McDonald’s and capped a stout mercy rule victory in four innings.

The Twins cranked five hits to build an early 4-0 lead in the first inning.

Then Twins trudged ahead 10-1 in the second inning off three hits and four walks.

Most of the runs scored off extra throws and perhaps some hesitation by an indecisive McDonald’s defense.

McDonald’s could not recover from the early battering and came up dry in its final stand after only grinding a run apiece in the second and third frames.