Braves bag Big League pennant

A Braves pitcher warms up before their game against the Fielders in the Big League division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball last week at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The NSA Braves earned a pennant-clinching 5-2 win over the Fielders in the Big League division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball last week at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.

The Braves finished the three-round robin regular season with a 9-3 record, just one win ahead of defending champions Padres (8-4). The Top 2 finishers square off today with the winner marching into the finals first and the loser playing the victor of the Fielders (5-7) and Lions (1-11) rubber match for the second and last finals ticket.

Ricky Joe Riungel found his rhythm in the second inning after allowing three early hits and two earned runs at the top of the first to lift the Braves to the win. Riungel, who pitched in all seven innings, gave up only one hit, walked two, and struck out eight in the last six.

The Braves pitcher also scored one of the first two runs of the Braves at the bottom of the second. He and second baseman K.J. Kalen made it home off a double from leftfielder Frankie Norita to force a deadlock. Norita then broke the tie and put the Braves on top when he also scored off a single from designated hitter Ray Tudela.

The Braves kept the shaky lead in the next four innings, as Riungel, who gave up RBI singles to Khobby Kaipat and David Ada in the first inning, played steady on the mound. The Braves’ advantage was then stretched to three at the bottom of the sixth with Tudela and Haini Blas hitting RBI singles.

At the top of the seventh, the Fielders were pressed to score at least three runs to extend the match and they had the opportunity to do so with Quinson Blas and Ton Muna making it to second and first base with two outs. Riungel got the first out, striking out Javon Borja, while second batter Fermin Renguul returned to the Fielders’ bench on a 4-3 putout play. The Braves then got the third out, denied the two Fielders from reaching home and secured the pennant after Blas caught a fly ball from Joe Lizama at centerfield.

The Braves victory came after they were stunned by the erstwhile winless Lions, 4-7.

The Lions logged three and four runs in the third and fourth inning to pull off an upset against the Braves and foil the latter’s early celebration. Davey Matagolai led the Lions, as he went 3-for-3 at bat and nailed three RBIs. He blasted a two-run triple in the fourth inning and an RBI single in the third. His first at-bat at the bottom of the opening inning resulted in a double.

In other results last week, the Padres tamed the Lions, 8-1, and the latter also suffered a loss to the Fielders in the final game in the regular season, 4-9. The Lions and the Fielders will collide for the right to face the loser of the Braves-Padres tiff this Thursday.