Nakamura ahead; Riungel, Lieto on top

Yankees pitcher Peter Lieto, right, warms up with teammate Gary Cruz during their opening game against the Blue Jays in the 2016 Saipan Baseball League late last month at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Yankees’ Franco Nakamura and Falcons’ Ricky Joe Riungel and the Yankees Peter Lieto are the early leaders in the batting and pitching races in the 2016 Saipan Baseball League.

Nakamura is on top of the batting charts with his .833 average from a 5-for-6 at bat in the Yankees’ first two games. Nakamura is ahead of the Falcons’ A.J. Evangelista and the GSM Brewers’ Nokki Saralu, who recorded similar .572 average in the first two matches after going 4-for-7. The Aces’ Lamarc Iguel and Blue Jays’ Keola Camacho rounded out the Top 5 after earning identical .500 averages with the former hitting 4-for-8 and the latter going 3-for-6.

Ten more players made it to the pitching leadeboard, which was based on 6 or more at bats. The Chalan Kanoa Bears’ Jose Lizama went 4-for-9 for an average of .445 to place sixth and was followed by the Falcons’ Barry Sunumai, the North Starz’ Tim Cruz , and Titanium’s Ton Leon Guerrero and Patrick Tenorio, who posted identical averages of .429 for firing 3-for-7. Completing the list were the Yankees’ Ben Leon Guerrero (.400/4-for-10), the Bears’ Peyton Lizama (.400/4-for-10), and A.J. Lizama (.400/4-for-10), the Brewers’ Byron Kaipat (.375/3-for-8), and the Yankees’ Gary Cruz (.364/4-for-11).

Peyton Lizama has the most runs so far in the league with six, while Tim Cruz, and the Aces’ Juan Iguel have recorded five each. Cruz also has two doubles to tie the Yankees’ Peter Tomokane, while in triples category, six players have one apiece. In the RBIs race, Tomokane and A.J. Lizama are ahead with four each, while the Brewers’ Pat Alepuyo, Blue Jays’ Quinson Blas, and the Yankees’s Gary Cruz have tallied three apiece. No player has yet to make a home run in the early stage of the league.

In the pitching race, Riungel and Lieto are tied for the lead with their similar 0.00 ERA. Riungel gave up no earned run in eight innings pitch, while Lieto did the same in five innings.

The two young pitchers are ahead of the Bears’ Jeffrey Lizama (1.42 ERA), the Aces’ Michael Muna Jr. (1.50 ERA), the Brewers’ Leonard Sablan (1.50 ERA), the Blue Jays’ Keola Camacho (1.80 ERA), the Yankees Kelvin Kapileo (1.80), the North Starz’s V.J. Camacho (2.84 ERA), the Brewers’ Vince Cepeda (3.18 ERA), and the Bears’ Jose Lizama Jr. (3.38 ERA). The pitching leaders were based on five or more inning pitched.

In the strikeouts category, Muna enjoys the top view with his 17 Ks, while Jose Lizama Jr. has earned 13. Lieto and Titanium’s Joe Palacios have 11 apiece, while Keola Camacho and Cepeda have eight each.