By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE Ford Rangers shut out the Bob O’Conner Masters in the first five innings and withstood the latter’s rally in the ninth to pull off a 9-5 victory in the 2007 Budweiser Saipan Major League baseball tournament last Monday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.
The win improved the Rangers record to 4-3 moving the team up to second place behind the league-leading Bud Kings (7-0). The Masters dropped to third with a 4-3 slate.
Franco Flores pitched in no relief allowing only seven hits and walking two. He had 10 strikeouts.
The Rangers pitcher had six strikeouts in the first five innings to put the Rangers in the lead, 3-0.
The Masters got on the scoreboard at the bottom of the sixth with Ben Duenas scoring a run on a Paul Camacho triple.
But the Masters failed to sustain their momentum as Flores and the Rangers’ defense shut them out in the seventh and eighth innings.
The Rangers had their best offensive spurt in the seventh inning scoring four runs. They were shut out in the last two innings.
At the bottom of the ninth, the Masters’ leadoff batter, Paul Camacho, hit a triple and later reached home on a Dave Kapileo single.
Kapileo later gave the Masters their second run in the ninth inning, running from third base to home plate
The Masters’ next two batters shortstop Ben Mesa and Tony Camacho went down with Flores striking out Mesa and Camacho being beaten to second base.
Reno Celis and Dennis Renguul scored a run apiece for the Masters on Dennis Cruz’s single for the final score.
The game ended in favor of the Rangers when Ben Duenas flied out with Rangers shortstop Peter Tomokane catching the ball.
John Acosta went 3-for-4 for the Rangers with one run and an RBI. Catcher Manny Sablan was 2-for-4 with two runs, a single and a double.
Cliffton Sillil and Robert Bansil were both 2-for-5 at the plate. Sillil had two runs and two singles, while Bansil had one run and two singles.
The Rangers were 11-for-39 at the plate, while the Masters went 7-for-33.