CNMI shuts down Palau in baseball

Members of the CNMI Baseball Team are seen here in an aerial shot taken before their game against Palau in the 8th Micronesian Games at the Daini Field in Pohnpei. (United Youth Media)

Pitcher Joshua Jones threw a two-hitter, walked four, and struck out 14 batters, while Tyrone Omar blasted a two-run single to give the CNMI a good start in the five team tournament. Palau dropped to a 1-1 record, failing to make a follow-up on its 5-3 opening day victory against Pohnpei.

The NCAA Division 2-bound Jones pitched in seven complete innings, frustrating Palau batters all morning. Palau also held the CNMI without a run in the first five innings before Jared Sablan got things going for the Tony Rogolifoi-managed squad at the bottom of the sixth.

According to team statistician A.J. Palacios Murig, Sablan led off with a single, while Rocco Reyes and Diego Camacho hit back-to-back bunts to put the CNMI in scoring position with no outs. Omar was next at bat and also drilled a single, bringing Sablan and Reyes home. Camacho then stole home, lifting the CNMI to a 3-0 lead, going into the last inning. Palau failed to break its silence at the top of the seventh inning, giving the CNMI the debut win.

The Commonwealth sluggers will go for win No. 2 today when they faces Kosrae in the second match at 1pm. Guam and Pohnpei collide in the first game at 9am. Guam is also gunning for its second victory, following a 7-4 triumph over Kosrae last Monday.

The Top 2 teams after the round robin play will battle for the first finals berth with the loser meeting the winner of the No. 3 and 4 pairing for the second and last finals ticket.

Basketball, spearfishing teams lose
Meanwhile, the CNMI’s men’s and women’s basketball teams dropped their opening games at the COM-FSM National Gymnasium.

The men’s squad played first and bowed in its 2pm match over Palau, 64-91. In the evening match, the CNMI cagebelles lost a closely fought game against the hosts, 63-66. Pohnpei was also victorious in the men’s division, pounding Nauru in the last game in Day 1, 107.44. Other opening day winners in the men’s basketball were Guam and Kosrae, which trounced Marshall Islands, 97-61, and Yap, 114-40, respectively.

Preliminary games in the basketball tournament continued yesterday with the CNMI set to meet Nauru in the men’s division at 8am and Guam in the women’s field at 10am.

In the spearfishing, the CNMI failed to land medals in both the individual and team events.

Palau took the gold and bronze medals in the individual event with Guam winning the silver. In the team event Guam nailed the gold, beating Palau and Pohnpei. The rankings of other nations/teams were unavailable at the event’s website at press time.