Enforcers, IT&E rout foes

An Enforcers pitcher makes eye contact with his catcher during an earlier game against the Falcons in the Major division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball at the Miguel ?Tan Ge? Basa Pangelinan Ballfield. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

The Enforcers and IT&E took the short route to victory in the Major division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball League after earning early decisions last Sunday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.
The Enforcers (4-4) finished off the Ol’ Aces (1-8) in only four innings, 16-1, while IT&E also got a four-inning win via 10-run mercy rule over the hapless Jets (1-7), 10-0.

IT&E drew an impressive game from pitcher Kyle Kapileo to crush the Jets. He threw a no-hitter in four innings and had 12 strikeouts. The IT&E pitching ace forced the Jets to 1-2-3 inning on three occasions. The only time he missed getting the first three strikeouts was in the third inning when he walked the Jets’ third batter Nathan Aizon with two outs. Aizon remained at first base, as Kapileo struck out Eldon Rife for the last out.

While Kyle Kapileo held his own on defense, Philip Kapileo and Spencer Dickinson provided some spark to IT&E’s offense. Philip was 2-for-3 at bat and scored three RBIs. He had back-to-back base hits after being struck out in the second inning, blasting a two-run single in the third and an RBI single in the fourth. Dickinson added two RBIs, connecting on an RBI triple in the first inning and another RBI triple in the fourth.

Meanwhile, in the Enforcers-Ol’Aces tiff, the former scored in all four innings to notch the easy win. They zoomed to a 10-0 advantage after three innings, logging six earned runs. The Falcons then gained four runs off the Ol’Aces errors at the top of the fourth and two more off a stolen base and a Dennis Teregeyo RBI single to pad their lead and put pressure on the Ol’Aces, going into the last inning.

The Ol’Aces needed at least seven runs to extend the game, but made only one off Trevon Lieto’s RBI single. Lieto drove home C.J. Kaipat with only one out and the former went on to reach third base, but was stranded, as Enforcers closer Troy Laniyo struck out the Ol’Aces‘ last two batters.

Laniyo came in for Ignacio Mendiola in the third inning and allowed the Ol’Aces only two hits, while striking out four and walking two. Mendiola threw a no-hitter in the first two innings, walked one, and got three strikeouts.

IP&E Rockies 9,
Red Sox 3
In the third Major division game last Sunday, IP&E ended its three-game losing skid after beating the Red Sox.

IP&E allowed the Red Sox to score only in the fourth inning to claim its third win in eight games. Tyrese Camacho pitched IP&E to win, as he got nine strikeouts in six innings and gave up only one earned run and two hits.

The Red Sox made the one earned run off Jode Reyes’ RBI double in the fourth inning and they collected two more runs in that frame from IP&E’s miscues. Despite the Red Sox’s three-run top of the fourth, IP&E still led, 6-3, and gained more cushion in the next inning, as the latter shut down the former at the top of the fifth, while racking up three runs at the bottom.

Then at the top of the last inning, IP&E moved one run away from earning the early decision when the Red Sox’s first two batters were booted out. A hit by pitch on Zachary Camacho halted IP&E’s bid to end the game quickly, but Tyrese Camacho redeemed himself from the error when he struck out Kelvin Foreman.