New batting, pitching leaders in Major division

A Laolao Bay pitcher delivers pitch to the IP&E Rockies during an earlier game in the Major division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball last month at the Miguel ?Tan Ge? Basa Pangelinan Ballfield. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

The Major division of the 2014 Saipan Little League Baseball League has new batting and pitching pacesetters in the Comets I’s Francisco Frederick and Laolao Bay’s Justin Celis.
Frederick recorded a batting average of .714 after last March 2’s matches, as he went 10-for-14 at the plate. He was the lone batter to post a batting average of at least .700 and he booted out two-time leader Philip Kapileo of IT&E from the top spot. Kapileo, who was 10-for-18 after last weekend’s games for a batting average of .555, dropped to a tie for fifth to eighth place with the Falcons’ Angel Iguel (10-for-18), IP&E’s Tyrese Camacho (11-for-20), and teammate Spencer Dickinson (10-for-18).

The Falcons’ Aven Evangelista (10-for-16) moved up to second with his .625, followed by teammate Justin Cangco (.578) at third and McDonald’s Sun Joon Tenorio (.562) at fourth place.
Completing the batting leaderboard, which was based on 13 or more times at bat, were Comets I’s Clarence Cabrera (.538), the Braves’ Joe Tudela (.526) and Robin Sablan (.500), McDonald’s Austin Sanchez (.500), and Celis (.500).

He may have been in the last spot in the Top 15 in the batting race, but Celis is lording it over in the pitching contest. In 13 innings, he gave up only three runs for an ERA of 1.84. The Laolao Bay pitcher is ahead of JPO Enforcers’ Kenneth Kaipat (2.82), former leader and last week’s second-ranked Tyrese Camacho of IP&E (3.23), the Red Sox’s Jode Reyes (7.50), and IT&E’s Spencer Dickison (8.00). Last week’s pacesetter Max Pangelinan of the Falcons did not make it to the Top 5, which was based on 13 innings or more pitched.

In other categories in the Major division, Dickinson still leads in the strikeouts with his 38, four more than Camacho’s, while Celis has 27 so far. Kyle Kapileo and Tudela are tied in most doubles with four, while there were also ties in RBIs with four players having 10 each and in triples with five players getting two apiece so far. In the runs, IP&E’s Dai Podziewski is alone at the top with 18, while Thomas Agulto also has the solo lead in home runs with his three.

Meanwhile, in the pitching races in other divisions, the JPO Enforcers’ Kier Ada is ahead of four others in the Junior League with his 0.83 ERA; the Red Sox’s Jhace Palacios is on top of the Senior League with his 0.50, and the Braves’ Ricky Joe Renguul paces the Big League with his 0.50.

Agda also has the most strikeouts so far with 27, while the Jets’ Nathan Camacho has earned 20 in the Senior League, and the Fielders’ Jose Lizama has recorded 24 in the Big League.