By Patrick Lujan
The stage is set for the 2022 ISA Baseball League championship. It will be the FD Friars and ND Royals Saturday night at Okkodo Field with the first pitch at 7 pm.
The Royals doubled up on the GW Geckos 10-5 at the Paseo Stadium Thursday afternoon while the Friars blanked the Southern Dolphins 10-0 at the FD Field in games that went on simultaneously.
ND’s BIG INNING
Trailing 1-0 heading into the fifth inning, the Royals finally got to GW ace pitcher Javen Pangelinan, who was mowing down the ND lineup with high gas in the preceding innings.
The first 11 batters of the inning got on base safely for the Royals before a double play finally ended the barrage. By then, it was 9-1.
Josh Young, Xavier Panes, Dominic Cruz, Jr., Jeff Balajadia and Ricky Leon Guerrero all sprayed singles off of Pangelinan, eventually chasing the GW fireballer.
A couple of outfield errors and another RBI single by Ziyah Camacho kept the huge inning going.
The inning went from bad to worse for the Geckos. With Cruz batting for the second time in the inning, a pop fly to center hung in the wind. GW centerfielder Keoni Raguindin and rightfielder Eden Sudo both went for the flailing ball, only to collide in horrific fashion. Both players laid motionless in the outfield until ambulances quickly arrived to bring them to hospital attention.
GW made a valiant effort with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, but it was far from enough, ending the Geckos season.
Cruz, Jr. not only had two hits for ND, but came in emergency relief on the mound and performed admirably.
In the first inning, starter Nolan Cruz was having difficulty with his landing foot on the mound, slipping several times on delivery since the warm ups. In only the second batter of the game, Cruz fell in pain after another slip. He had to be assisted off the field and his condition for Saturday’s championship game is in doubt.
A short delay ensued as coaches from both teams watered down and compacted the landing area.
FRIARS WIN BIG
Sean Balauro pitched five shoutout innings, giving up only one hit and striking out four.
Franklin Ninete, Jr. went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI to lead the FD offense. Zach Muna and Daethan Alcantara both had two-run hits.
Expect Ninete to take the mound on championship night.
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QUICK HITS
Matsuno’s second place finish earned him an invitation to compete in the FCG Junior Golf Championship to be held in July 2025.
A junior at St. John’s, he is also currently leading the IIAAG high school All-Island golf competition, chasing the coveted individual high school golf title.
