ATHLETICS, BRAVES POSTPONED

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By Gus Untalan

Athletics Danny “DJ” Cruz rounds out third base and heads home after teammate Mark Paulino hit one deep in left field. (photo by Jesse Castro)

The Braves remain undefeated in the Budweiser Baseball League after Tuesday night’s meeting with the Bank of Guam Athletics.

A power outage from Anigua to Paseo forced the game to be postponed and finished at a later date with the Athletics leading 9-7 in the top of the seventh inning.  The Braves have a 7-0 record on the line and have not lost since Game 5 of last season’s championship series.

Trailing by three runs, the Athletics found momentum in the bottom of the sixth inning to score five runs to overtake the lead by the Braves.  The highlight of the inning came with the bases loaded, catcher Mike Bautista cranked a pitch to center field to clear the bases on a whooping three RBI double.  Bautista would later reach home off a RBI single by Randy Alcantara to end the inning.

The Athletics managed to score first in the bottom of the opening inning.  A RBI single to center field by DJ Cruz drove home shortstop Don Juan Franquez to give Bank of Guam a 1-0 lead after one.

The Braves however bounced back in the top of the second inning scoring two runs.  Lead off batter BJ Balajadia cranked a pitch to center field to send home Dominic Cruz and JT Tuquero on a two-run scoring single to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.

Braves Alan Sarmiento gets on third base while his teammate Dominic Cruz already out slides into second. (photo by Jesse Castro)

The Braves carried the momentum built in the second to add runs in the top of the third inning.  First baseman Rico Castro sparked the run scoring on a fielder’s choice by the Athletics.  On the same play, a throwing error allowed Glen Fernandez to steal home.  The final run of the inning came off an overthrow to first base that sent home John Sarmiento. The Braves lead by as many as four runs.

Bank of Guam fought hard to cut the deficit in the bottom of the fourth inning.  A RBI double to left field by Mark Paulino drove Cruz.  Then, Randy Alcantara reached home off a sacrifice fly by Zack Sablan.  Paulino would score the final run of the inning off a RBI double by Taru Ise to end the inning down 5-4.

In the match, Athletics starting pitcher Roke Alcantara, Jr. exited with an impressive six strikeouts after pitching four complete innings.

There is no set date for the continuation of the game but will resume in the top of the seventh inning with no outs and a runner on first base.

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