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By Regina Shiroma

Geckos’ Nate Cruz slugged this two run homer in the bottom of the first inning to put his team up 3-1. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
Head Coach of the GW Geckos, Mike Jesus, tells his boys to“…Play every team, don’t take them [the Sharks] lightly.”
Six and a half innings and 15 strikeouts later, the GW Geckos definitely did not take their opponent lightly as they pulled off an upsetting 7-3 win against the defending champs, the Simon Sanchez Sharks, at the Geckos home field Saturday morning.
Winning pitcher, Geckos’ Kaleb Cruz, pitched all seven innings leading his team in the victory with his 15 strikeouts and giving up just six hits.
“I just went out there to pitch, just pitch out and try to get strikeouts,” said Cruz.
The Geckos went to work right from the start as leadoff batter Hank Sablan hit a homerun to tie the game at one-all in the bottom of the first. Nathan Cruz followed with a two-run homer of his own allowing the Geckos to take the lead, and from that point forward they never looked back.
Both teams struggled to find their rhythm throughout the second to fourth innings as both teams were unable to get more than two hits in.
Sablan and Cruz broke the silence after they advanced home on errors from Sanchez’s infielders, furthering their lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
The Sharks saw some light in the top of the sixth when Darren Meno hit a two RBI double to close in on the Geckos, making the score 5-3. However, Cruz diminished their chances to score by striking out the next two batters to send the Sharks back to defense.

Sharks’ Darren Meno stopped his team’s cold streak with this 2 RBI double in the sixth inning. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
In the bottom of the sixth, the Geckos answered back with two runs of their own with Christian Borja scoring on an error on Sanchez’s second baseman. Nathan Cruz hit another RBI single into center field that brought in Brandon Muna, scoring the final run of the ball game.
In the top of the seventh, the Sharks were unable to score any runs as Kaleb Cruz sent the Sharks home three up, three down.
The Sharks led 1-0 at the top of the first off an RBI double from Daniel Cruz that brought in John Aguon, but from then on it was all Geckos ball game.
“We’re just going to keep on playing how we’re playing and everything should go good,” said Kaleb Cruz on the win.
“Our hitting’s coming through, we have our pitching. They’re coming together, we’re just telling them to have fun out there,” said coach Jesus after the game.
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Geckos’ Hank Sablan slammed this controversial solo home run to score the first point for his team. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Geckos’ Christian Palacios gets a good hit on the ball to advance to first. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Sharks’ Daniel Cruz slammed this RBI double in the top of the first inning to score the first point for his team. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Geckos’ Nate Cruz gets the tag on Sharks’ Julian Flores who tried to advance to third off a catching error. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)
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GPS Sports Calendar
February 2025
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Events for January
1st
LEGACY SPIKEFEST TOURNAMENT
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
H.S. RUGBY
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL
Events for February
1st
Events for February
4th
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL
H.S. TENNIS
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
5th
H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL
H.S. RUGBY
Events for February
6th
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL
ISA H.S. TENNIS
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
7th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
SINDALU NINJA GAMES
H.S. RUGBY
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL
Events for February
9th
Events for February
11th
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL
ISA H.S. TENNIS
H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
11th
Events for February
13th
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL
ISA H.S. TENNIS
Events for February
15th
H.S. RUGBY
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL
Events for February
15th
Events for February
16th
Events for February
18th
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL
ISA H.S. TENNIS
H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL
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20th
ISA H.S. TENNIS
FIBA BASKETBALL: GUAM VS. MONGOLIA
Events for February
21st
H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL
H.S. RUGBY PLAYOFFS
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22nd
H.S. RUGBY
H.S. GIRLS SOFTBALL SEMIFINALS
Events for February
23rd
Events for February
25th
ISA H.S. TENNIS
H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL

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