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Blue Jays, Jr. Nationals hold onto W in SBL
In this file photo, Jr. National’s Kazu Dela Cruz slides home just barely safe in their game against the Blue Jays in the Tan Holdings-Saipan Baseball League 2023 season at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field. (LEIGH GASES)
The Blue Jays and Jr. Nationals have nicked wins in the Tan Holdings-Saipan Baseball League 2023 season last Thursday and Friday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.
The Blue Jays came out of a recent loss but this time rallied against the D9ers to win a close 8-7 game on Thursday, while the Jr. Nationals slipped past the Falcons, 2-1 on Friday.
D-9ers pitcher Giovanni Ayuyu pitched three shutout innings as the Blue Jays could not make contact with his pitches. Only one hit was made by Alden Ngeskebei in the first inning but the Blue Jays were effectively shut down back-to-back.
In their at-bats, the D-9ers had the early upper hand as they took advantage of the Blue Jays’ scoreless innings, bringing in their seven runs in four innings.
The fourth inning was a hitting frenzy as they went through their whole lineup and produced four runs off the bats of Dave Walwebug, Patrick Celis, T. Leon Guerrero, and John Benavente.
However, the Blue Jays’ time to shine came in the last three innings as their bats came alive in the fourth inning and brought in five runs for a 7-5 game. The D-9ers pitching fell apart as consecutive base on balls put runners in scoring position which the Blue Jays capitalized on.
Two more runs came in the sixth inning by Kier Agda and Mike Tomokane for a now tied 7-7 ball game. The winning run for the Blue Jays came in the last inning as James Salalila rounded the bases for an 8-7 final.
The Jr. Nationals and Falcons game was a pitching duel as the former shut down the latter in six innings. The Jr. Nationals scored their runs in the first and third inning and were silenced in the five other innings.
The combined efforts of Falcons pitchers Clint Quitugua and R.J. Rengiil struck out a total of nine batters; while the Jr. Nationals pitchers induced more ground balls and K’d five batters.
In the standings, the Cardinals and Natives are undefeated with four wins each; Falcons are third with a 3-1 record; the C.K. Bears are 2-1; the Blue Jays and Jr. Nationals are 2-2 each; Bandits and Survivors are 1-2 each; and the Braves, Brewers, and D9ers have yet to win with three losses each.
