Masters, Papa Bears beat foes

Mike Sablan of the S.A. Masters throws to the plate in their game against the Papa Bears in the 2017 Belau Masters Men’s Softball League last Sunday at the Dandan Softball Field.
(Jon Perez)

The S.A. Masters and Momma Charu defeated their respective foes in the continuation of games in the 2017 Belau Masters Men’s Softball League last Sunday at the Dandan Softball Field.

The Masters breezed through a 14-3 win over Sufa, while Momma Charu completed a 14-9 decision against the Papa Bears to shore up their respective bids in the next round of the annual league.

The Top 8 teams will advance to the next round with Red Torch, still winless after 12 games, on the verge of being kicked out after the double- round robin eliminations.

Jeff Cabrera and Jude Dickinson led the Masters to their sixth win in 12 games after both went perfect at the plate, 4-for-4. Both batters are also a double and triple short of hitting the cycle.

Cabrera had a pair of singles, a triple, and an inside-the-park home run in the Masters’ six-run sixth inning, while Dickinson singled twice, had a double, and a three-run home run also in the sixth. They also combined for seven runs and eight RBIs.

Reno Celis went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Dennis Ngeskebei, who walked in the first inning, also batted 2-for-3 while scoring two runs. Phil Celis was held to 1-for-4 but reached home plate twice and had an RBI double in the sixth.

Mike Sablan also shone for the Masters on the mound as he held Sufa to six hits, all singles, with no walks while striking out four. The Masters’ defense also backed him up after Sufa could just managed to hit fly outs and line drives despite committing three errors.

John Pialur had two of Sufa’s six hits with a pair of singles in three at bats while also scoring one of their team’s three runs with an RBI. Tom Camacho, Poland Yamada, Ernie Bell, and Ed Santos went 1-for-3 each with the first two batters scoring one run apiece.

Momma Charu, still riding on its morale-boosting 16-13 win over league-leaders Brotherhood on Aug. 20, won its third straight game after completing a 14-9 decision against the Papa Bears.

Momma Charu improved to 8-3 to remain within striking distance with Brotherhood’s league-best 11-1 slate and the 10-1 record of Peleliu. The Papa Bears dropped to 2-9.

Kuich Damian and Ben Tagabuel each went 3-for-4 with the former blasting a two-run homer in the fifth inning and the latter scoring thrice. Ron Olopai went perfect at the plate, 3-for-3, all singles with one run, while Peyton Sakuma batted 2-for-3 with an RBI double and triple to go with his two runs.