Falcons take Senior League pennant

The Falcons’ Spencer Dickinson pitches against the Enforcers during their second meeting in the Senior League division of the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Falcons secured the pennant in the Senior League division of the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball after nipping the Enforcers, 2-1, last Sunday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.

The Falcons now hold a 7-2 record and though they still have three games left in the regular season, they are locked at the top spot as the second-running Enforcers dropped to a 6-5 card after the loss.

Tindin Deleon Guerrero had an RBI and also scored one run in their crucial victory against the Enforcers. Deleon Guerrero’s single at the bottom of the second inning brought Spencer Dickinson home. Earlier, Dickinson blasted a triple to move to scoring position. Deleon Guerrero batted next and after his single he stole second and third before reaching home off a passed ball.

The Falcons, who are also the division’s defending champions, went on to keep the lead in the low-scoring game, as the Enforcers only made it home once, courtesy of Pedro Maratita’s run at the top of the fourth inning.

Dickinson helped the Falcons neutralize the Enforcers as he pitched in the first four innings before getting a breather from Jester Kintaro, who worked the mound for the back-to-back pennant champions until the last inning.

Meanwhile, the Falcons and Enforcers dominated the batting race in their division with the latter’s seven players and the former’s six making it to the Top 15. The Blue Jays had only two players on the leaderboard.

The Enforcers’ Tyrese Camacho had the best batting average at the cutoff date (April 2) with his .454 (15-for-33), while the Blue Jays’ Dominic Yumul (.416/10-for-24), and the Falcons’ Deleon Guerrero (.346/9-for-26) placed No. 2 and 3, respectively.

Others on the list (not in order) are the Falcons’ Henry Aguon (.333), Ace Evangelista (.320), Dickinson (.318), Noel Cabrera (.315), and Kobe Lifoifoi (.296), the Blue Jays’ Awang Tudela (.333), and the Enforcers’ Jose Camacho (.333), Maratita (.333), Dennis Cabrera (.333), Larson Sibetang (.291), Shakobe Rangamar (.272), and Leo Salalila (.266). The batting leaders were based on 18 or more times at bat.

In the pitching race, Tyrese Camacho is also ahead of the pack as he allowed only two runs in 24 innings pitched for a 0.56 ERA. Rangamar is in second place with his 1.00 ERA (two runs allowed in 28 innings) and was followed by the Blue Jays’ Sho Taguchi (1.10 ERA/3 runs/19 innings), Kintaro (1.31 ERA/3 runs/15.2 innings), and Noel Cabrera (175 ERA/5 runs/19.2 innings).

Taguchi and Rangamar are tied in the most doubles scored with three apiece, while the latter is also in a deadlock with Tyrese Camacho in RBIs with eight each. In the triples, Rangamar is alone on top with two, while Tyrese Camacho leads in runs with 11. The Enforcers pitcher is also ranked No. 1 in strikeouts with 37, just ahead by three against Rangamar. In the home run category, only the Falcons’ Kimo Angailen and the Blue Jays’ Trion Sulap have rounded the bases.