By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE Ol’Aces II needed an extra inning to pull off a win, while the Aztecs, Matrix and Hustlers cruised to easy victories in the Majors division of the 2007 Saipan Little League Baseball tournament last Saturday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.
The Ol’Aces downed the Tanapag Braves in seven innings, 8-4, to improve to a 9-2 record and gain solo third place in the team standings behind the league-leading SAIPANCELL Patriots (11-0) and Mobil Kagman Aztecs (9-1).
The Braves dropped to an 8-3 slate.
The regulation ended in a 4-all deadlock.
The Ol’Aces II were at bat at the top of the extra inning.
Braves’ pitcher Ricky Joe Renguil walked the Ol’Aces leadoff batter JJ Sablan, who moved to second as Cain Castro advanced to first on a Braves error.
First baseman Caleb Arriola then hit a single driving Castro and Sablan home and giving the Ol’Aces II a 6-4 lead.
Arriola made it 7-4 when he reached homeplate on Braves’ errors.
Fourth batter Jacob Flores flied out for the first out.
The Ol’Aces’ next three batters hit singles with fifth batter Donovan Yamagishi later scoring a run on a Ben Diaz single.
Diaz, the sixth batter and seventh batter David Matagolai were thrown out as they were beaten to third and second bases, respectively.
At the bottom of the seventh, the Braves’ shortstop Peter Lieto was beaten to first base with Matagolai catching a grounder and throwing to Arriola.
Arriola had another good catch when he reached the ball, which was going to the right field after a Frankie Lieto hit.
Lancaster Secharmidal, who pitched for the Ol’Aces in the extra inning replacing Isidro Nepaial, struck out the Braves’ third baseman Jothan Camacho to end the game.
In other Majors results, the Aztecs strengthened their hold to the No. 2 spot after whipping the As Matuis/Wells Fargo Twins, 16-4.
The Twins were still in the game after three complete innings down by only three, 4-7, when a six-run fourth inning helped the Aztecs break the game wide open.
The Twins chances’ to recover never materialized as the Aztecs shut them out in the last two innings.
The Twins’ absorbed back-to-back losses and dropped to a 7-4 record.
The Matrix improved to a 4-7 slate after a 10-2 triumph over the San Vicente A’s in only five and a half innings.
Vince Torres pitched for the Matrix in the first three innings until midway through the fourth shutting out the A’s in the first three innings. He had 10 strikeouts, walked six and allowed no hits.
In the last game in the Majors, the Hustlers notched their eighth win in nine games after taming the San Antonio Dragons, 14-1.
The game ended only after four innings with pitcher AJ Lizama leading the Hustlers to an easy win.
Lizama pitched in no relief in four innings and had eight strikeouts. He allowed only two hits, walked two and gave up one run.
Lizama also performed well at the plate hitting 3-for-4 with a single, three runs and an inside-the-park homer.
Juniors: Warriors 6, Pirates 3
The Warriors kept their playoffs bid alive after beating the Pirates, 6-3, last Saturday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.
The win improved the Warriors record to 3-7 tying the Pirates in fourth place.
Only the top four teams in the Juniors division will advance to the playoffs.
As of last Saturday’s games, the PTI Fielders are leading the Juniors League with an 8-1 record, followed by the Jets and the Hustlers, who have identical 7-2 slates, the Pirates and the Warriors (3-7) and the Ol’Aces (0-9).
Senior: Fielders 7, Falcons 6
In the Senior league, the cellar-dweller Fielders stunned the second placer Falcons with a 7-6 win.
The Fielders gained only their second win in nine games, while the Falcons dropped to a 7-2 slate.
Meanwhile, SLLB president Joe Salas is calling on all members to attend a meeting on Wednesday in Gilbert C. Ada Gym’s conference room at 6 p.m.
Salas said they will be discussing upcoming tournaments.