FIASCO SUSPENDS BIG BBL GAME

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By Patrick Lujan

Mike Aguon hits the first of three home runs for the Phillies, a solo shot in the second inning. (photo by Jesse Castro)

The Crown Bakery Phillies hit three home runs over the Paseo Stadium left field wall and held on to hand the Moylan’s Braves their first BBL loss of the season 6-5 Tuesday night.

Mike Aguon, Jon Derrick San Nicolas and Calvert Alokoa all connected off of Braves starting flame-thrower Cliff Raphael and the Phillies bullpen held on to the lead for a huge win for the Phillies.

The game was called with one out in the top of the ninth by home plate umpire John Howe when both dugouts emptied and the teams came close to a physical confrontation.

UPDATE: THE LEAGUE HAS RULED THE GAME HAS BEEN SUSPENDED AND WILL BE COMPLETED AT A LATER DATE

It stemmed from the previous at-bat with Phillies pinch hitter Kevin Cruz leaning deep over the plate that seemed to mock the opponent and the game.

“Tensions are high and Kevin’s approach to the plate has always been his approach,” Phillies manager Shon Muna said. “We wanted him to draw a walk.”

“You don’t do that in baseball,” Braves manager Derrick Santos said about Cruz’s stance in the batter’s box.

Braves reliever Paul Lujan eventually struck him out and let his emotions be known, much to the displeasure of the Phillies bench. That carried over for a few minutes with both teams on the field before umpire Howe called the game.

After giving up three runs in the opening inning, R-Jay Joe settled down to get the win. At one point, he mowed down seven straight batters. (photo by Jesse Castro)

“Their team cleared their dugout and crossed the line and their pitcher started the fiasco,” Muna said.

“It’s good for baseball as far as competitiveness,” Santos added. “As far as showing the kids that kind of attitude, no, it’s not needed.”

The Braves will officially protest the umpire’s decision, stating that no one was thrown out of the game to cause the umpire to call the game.

Considered the two most talented teams in the league, the Braves were on a roll with a 10-0 record coming in while the talented Phillies were underachieving at 6-4.

Crown Bakery, however, came out on a mission and played their best game of the season before the ninth inning incident.

Phillies’ Jathan Muna-Barnes rounds third to score off a Miller Santos single in the fourth inning. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Trailing 3-0, Aguon put the Phillies on the board with a shot off the GTA sign in the top of the second and San Nicolas’ line drive homer the next inning cut it to 3-2.

Crown Bakery took a 4-3 lead in the fourth before Alokoa’s two-run blast in the sixth doubled the lead to 6-3.

“It’s always a morale booster for the team in a big game like this,” Muna said about the home runs.

‘This is good. It’s a test of character,” Santos added. “Most of our games we’re ahead, so with us behind in a game like this, it really tests our character. Even in the playoffs, we’re going to expect that (other teams) come to play.”

The game got interesting when Phillies reliever Brandon Fernandez walked three in the sixth inning that led to the Braves cutting the lead to 6-5. Freddy Cepeda came in and came up with a huge strikeout on Rico Castro with two runners on board.

Cepeda mowed down the rest of the Braves the rest of the way.

Braves runner Carl Quintanilla can’t beat the throw off an infield grounder that Phillies first baseman Matt Muna is ready to catch. (photo by Jesse Castro)

“Our Phillies machine finally started up and our sticks are finally coming around,” Muna added.

The Braves got off to a quick 3-0 start in the first inning behind RBI singles from Castro, Glenn Fernandez and Joe Tuquero.

WP Joe: five innings, six hits, four runs, three walks and four strikeouts.

LP Raphael: five innings, five hits, six runs, four walks and seven strikeouts.

NOTES: Phillies coach and former GML batting champion Eddie Muna celebrated his 45th birthday…pitcher R-Jay Joe just recently joined the Phillies after playing for Kansas Community College…Joe is Kosraean and Alokoa is half Kosraean, half Chamorro…The Phillies had two home runs as a team coming into the game.

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