Blowout wins for Twins, Falcons

A Twins runner tries to beat the Pirates’ pitcher at home plate during the top of the fourth inning of their game in the Majors division of the SLLB last Saturday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Twins and Talaabwogh demolished their respective opponents in the Majors division of the 2016 Saipan Little League Baseball last Saturday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield..

The Twins played in the third and final match last weekend and crushed the Pirates, 19-4, while in the penultimate game, the Falcons pounced on the NSA Braves, 29-0.

It took the Falcons only four innings to finish the one-sided match, saving their best for last after piling up 16 runs at the top of the fourth.

Eight of the Falcons players at the batting order scored twice and third baseman Isidro Lizama even went at bat three times and delivered the last RBI for his squad before being caught stealing third. However, the top of the fourth belonged to pitcher Kyle Kapileo, who blasted a two-RBI triple in his first at bat in that period and followed it up with a two-RBI double in his return to home plate.

Twelve of the Falcons 16 runs in the pivotal fourth inning were earned ones with Keoni Serrano contributing off his two-RBI triple, Jonathan Pinaula hitting a two-RBI double and an RBI single, Lizama and Sandy Kani making an RBI single each, and Chris Gonzales adding an RBI double.

Kapileo went 4-for-5 at bat and scored six RBIs to lead the Falcons past the Braves. He also pitched in no relief in four innings, striking out nine, walking two, and allowing only one run. The lone hit came from A.J. Johnson’s double at the bottom of the fourth and moved Heath Camacho to third with only one out. Kapileo then redeemed himself quickly, with back-to-back strikeouts to wrap up the match.

The Twins duplicated the Falcons’ strong finish to coast to victory against the Pirates.

The Twins bagged nine runs at the top of the fifth—their most in an inning—to end the game one inning earlier. The winning squad capitalized on the Pirates’ defensive lapses to gain 7 unearned runs in the fifth inning and set up the easy win via 10-run mercy rule.

The Pirates failed to extend the match as they left a runner stranded at third after Ethan Taisacan got three straight strikeouts at the bottom of the fifth. The Pirates were also shutdown in the fourth as they had a 1-2-3 inning with Twins starting pitcher Kody Foreman posting two strikeouts and centerfielder Ethan Yumul catching a fly ball.

The Twins, on the other hand, scored in each of the first four innings, drilling three apiece in the first and third and two each in the second and fourth. The Pirates had one each in the first and third inning and made their best showing offensively in the second off Kazu Dela Cruz and Josh Atalig’s RBI singles.