Peleliu clinches Belau pennant

Peleliu’s Ross Kintaro prepares to throw a pitch against a Brotherhood batter in their one-game playoff for the 2017 Belau Men’s Masters Softball League pennant last Sunday at the Dandan Softball Field. (Jon Perez)

Peleliu made short work of Brotherhood, 25-3, in their tiebreaker match to clinch the pennant and the No. 1 seeding in the 2017 Belau Men’s Masters Softball League last Sunday at the Dandan Softball Field.

Brotherhood forced a playoff after a 23-12 crushing of Papa Bears earlier in the day, a win that allowed them to tie Peleliu for the top ranking with identical 14-2 records after the two-round eliminations.

Playing two games, however, took its toll on Brotherhood with Peleliu pitcher Ross Kintaro, who made his presence felt on the mound and at the plate, shutting down their foe’s usually reliable offensive game. Kintaro pitched in no relief in the five-inning match, held down Brotherhood to nine hits, and at the same time had plenty of defensive support.

The lefty pitcher also led Peleliu’s batting after going 4-for-4 with six RBIs, including a three-run shot in their team’s 12-run inning at the top of the third. Kintaro added three singles and scored three runs.

Mark Flores, Charles Kenty, and Dominic Remeliik went perfect at the plate, too with the latter having five RBIs. Flores and Kenty combined for 8-for-8 batting and six runs with the former posting three RBIs and a double and the latter driving in two runs. Remeliik went 3-for-3, including a two-run homer in the fourth, while George David had a 3-for-4 batting with two runs, two doubles, and two RBIs. Dominic Hideo, 2-for-3, also homered and drove in three runs.

Brel Kodep, Walter Macaranas, and Mabel Ngirngemelas all went 2-for-4 to round up Peleliu’s 28-hit game against Brotherhood pitcher John Diaz. Ngirngemelas also homered and had two runs and an RBI.

Bill Angailen was the lone bright spot for Brotherhood, going 3-for-3, including a two-run shot in the third to tag along Joe Lizama for two of their team’s three runs. Diaz scored the other run, while Ben Hocog went 2-for-2. Brotherhood’s batting quartet of Diaz, Lizama, Bill Camacho, and Jerry Ayuyu was silent the entire game. Lizama, who joined the three on the batting leaders, had a double in the third and struck out in the fifth.

Meanwhile, Peleliu will start things off in this Sunday’s knockout playoff round against No. 8 Asahi at 11am, followed by Brotherhood’s match versus the seventh-ranked Sufa. Third seed Momma Charu takes on No. 6 Papa Bears at 1pm, while No. 4 Karui battles fifth-ranked S.A. Masters in the 2pm final match.

The winners will advance to the one-game semifinals on Oct. 29 , while the title match will be played on Nov. 5.