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Pirates-1, McDonalds down opponents
The Pirates-1 pitcher catches the ball thrown from home plate during a warm-up for their game against the Ol’Aces in the Majors division of the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball last Saturday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
The Pirates-1 and McDonald’s prevailed in the pair of games in the Major division of the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball last Saturday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.
McDonald’s was the first to register a win after outclassing the Twins, 7-5, while the Pirates-1 triumphed in the last match against the Ol’Aces, 16-11.
The Pirates-1 built enough cushion in the early innings to withstand the Ol’Aces’ late rally, as the former established a 12-3 advantage after three complete innings.
G-Boy Pangelinan shut down the Ol’Aces in the first two innings to help the Pirates-1 take control of the match. The Pirates-1 got two runs in the first inning and performed better at the plate in the second, firing seven runs to open a 9-0 lead. Kazu Dela Cruz had an RBI double, while Clarke McDonald and Evan Mendiola made an RBI single each in the second inning.
In the third inning, the Ol’Aces finally lit up the board and scored three runs, however they only matched the production of the Pirates-1 at the top of that frame, allowing the latter to keep a good lead. The Pirates-1 went on to stay on top despite the Ol’Aces’ eight-runs in the last three innings, as the eventual winners added four insurance runs in the fifth.
The Pirates-1 improved to a 2-8 record, while the Ol’Aces fell to a 1-7 mark.
In the first game, McDonald’s also found its target early to save the win—its sixth in 10 games. McDonald’s scored six runs in the first two innings against only one from the Twins. Shortstop L.J. Reyes tallied two of those six runs and also recorded two RBIs, one double, and one triple, while closer Tony Acosta added a pair of runs.
The Twins’ first run was courtesy of leadoff batter Terrel Rabago, who reached home off an Albert Adriano’s RBI single at the bottom of the first inning. The Twins then went scoreless in the second and third inning before logging four runs in the fourth—one came from Eliray Castro’s solo homer—to threaten McDonald’s 5-6.
However, McDonald’s hung on with Acosta, who relieved Dillon Santos, struck out the Twins’ first three batters in the fifth inning and fanned out two more in the last inning, which he closed with a 1-3 putout play.
