Redmen eliminates No. 1 seed Sufa, 9-6

Sufa’s Paul Salalila eyes the ball pitched by Redmen pitcher Greg Magofna before he hits it out of the park during their playoff game of the 2023 Budweiser Belau Amateur Softball Association League last Sunday at the DanDan Softball Field.(LEIGH GASES)

Cellar-dweller Redmen eliminated top seed Sufa in the first playoff game of the 2023 Budweiser Belau Amateur Softball Association League last Sunday at the DanDan Softball Field.

Sufa drew first blood off a home run from the home run king, Audie Maratita, but the Redmen immediately retaliated and brought in three runs in the next inning to claim a two run lead.

Ben Mesa of Sufa made it a one-run game as he hit a triple and was brought in by Maratita’s single, but Sufa’s offense took a hit as they themselves could not get good hits off Redmen pitcher, Greg Magofna.

Magofna held off the mighty Sufa’s offense as he retired the side in three back-to-back outs over the next three innings. His offense helped him out too as they brought in one in the fourth and five in the fifth from a home run by Left Shiro and a three-run home run by Tony Pangelinan.

Sufa tried to stage a comeback in the last inning as Paul Salalila hit a three-run home run of his own, but they were then shut down as only one more run came in and the final out signaled the end of their run for the championships.

Peleliu 12, Momma Charo 8
No. 2 seed Peleliu finished the regular season and started off the playoffs strong as they kicked out No. 7 Momma Charo, 12-8.

Peleliu went on a rampage and scored in all innings except one. Mark Flores and Cartfield Sablan scored the first two runs, followed by another two run second inning. 

Ben Hocog then hit a two-run home run in the next inning, and another two-run shot by John Taitano started the four-run fifth inning. 

Hagu La’mun 15, Asahi 5
Hagu La’mun, the sixth seed, took out the No. 3 seed Asahi, 15-5, in another upset. 

It was a run-mercy ruled game as Asahi could not make adequate contact with the ball.

They were hit into a drunken stupor by Hagu La’mun as they had a field day and brought in eight runs in the last inning. Hagu La’mun’s Dennis Cruz, Glen Camacho, and Joe Celis hit bombs out of the park, along with two more home runs by Kevin Kapileo.

Asahi’s runs came only in the second and last inning off RBI singles in the bottom of the lineup. Two more runs scored in the last inning and that was the ballgame as Asahi came up empty.

Man Amigos 18, Tokahao 12
The last upset of the playoffs came at the bats of the Man Amigos as they eliminated the defending champs Tokahao, 18-12.

The Man Amigos put up eight runs in a hurry and while they went scoreless for two innings, they came back with more runs in the end. 

Their eight-run inning was thanks to back-to-back homeruns by Manny Sablan and Joey Dela Cruz. 

Tokahao had eight runs by the third inning, but their runs trickled to just one each and were silent in the sixth inning. 

Rob Bansil and Jeff Cruz tried to help the cause with a homerun each, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Man Amigos away. 

By the last inning, the Man Amigos had scored six runs and stole the win from the defending champions.