By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE defending champion Patriots grabbed a share of the lead in the Majors division of the 2007 Saipan Little League Baseball tournament after clobbering the Pirates, 22-3, last Monday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.
The win was the Patriots’ second in as many games tying the Hustlers for the lead. The defending champions prevailed in their debut against the Tanapag Braves, 12-1, last Saturday.
Brian Camacho and relief pitcher Lamarc Iguel joined forces in the Patriots’ second straight win. Camacho went 3-for-4 and had three runs, three triples and five RBIs.
Iguel, who took the pitching chores from Janed Sablan in the fourth inning, was also 3-for-4 and posted two runs, a double, three RBIs and one home run.
In the third game last Monday, the Braves entered the win column with a 15-3 victory over the As Matuis Twins.
The Braves’ Ricky Joe Riungel pitched in no relief allowing the Twins to score all their runs at the bottom of the first before denying the losers even a single run in the succeeding innings.
Riungel also had three runs and 2 RBIs and went 3-for-4.
Frankie Norita also helped the Braves’ cause going 2-for-2 and nailing one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, the Patriots will gun for their third win in a row when they meet the Red Sox this Sunday in the fourth game. The Red Sox have a 1-0 record after beating Toyota Matrix last Sunday. They played the Ol’Aces 1 last Saturday, but the game was halted due to the haze caused by the gas and steam fumes emitted by the Anatahan volcano with the Red Sox down by two, 2-4.
Also scheduled to play this Sunday are the Twins vs the Ol’Aces 1 in the first game. The second game will have the Matrix facing the Braves, while the third match will feature the Hustlers fighting the Pirates.
Games in the Majors division will also be played this Saturday with the Chalan Kanoa Bears taking on the Aztecs in the first game.
The succeeding games will be the Reds vs the A’s, the Ol’Aces 2 vs the Dragons and McDonald’s vs the Little Legals.
In other divisions, action in the Big League begins tomorrow with the Fielders squaring off with the Hustlers at 6 p.m. On Friday, the Northern Angles battle the Aztecs.
With only four teams entered in the Big League, the participating squads will play a double round robin in the regular season.
On Saturday, the Senior League will have the Fielders meeting the Pirates, while action in the Junior League resumes this Sunday with the Jets playing the Ol’Aces.