Cardinals pitcher Bill Camacho throws the ball at a Padres batter during the first game of the 2024 Tan Holding Saipan Baseball League best-of-three finals at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field on Wednesday night.
Cardinals right-fielder Poland Masaharu swings for an RBI.
FROM a four-run deficit after three innings, the Cardinals rallied in the fourth to beat the Padres, 17-8, in the first game of the 2024 Tan Holdings Saipan Baseball League’s best-of-three championship series at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field Wednesday night.
With Bill Camacho on the mound, the Cardinals defended the bases with a three-up, three-down feat to silence the Padres in three consecutive innings.
The Padres defended well in the opening inning with first baseman Darion Jones and second baseman Jonah Flores preventing three batters from reaching first base. In the bottom of the first, Jones and catcher Austin Benavente hit an RBI single to give the Padres the lead.
Third baseman Brian Camacho tripled before first baseman Tony Tenorio brought him home with a single for the Cardinals’ lone run in the top of the second inning.
The Padres had four consecutive base hits, with Benavente notching his second RBI of the game, to stay afloat in the bottom of the third.
With one out in the top of the fourth, right fielder Poland Masaharu launched a single to the centerfield. Camacho then brought him home with a single as the Cardinals rallied to take the lead. Shortstop Nokki Saralu and Masaharu brought more batters to the plate after the Padres committed errors in the field.
Third baseman Tony Salas fired a run-scoring single for the Padres to cut the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Cardinals shortstop Saralu retired the Padres on a flyball for the third out.
Saralu blasted an RBI triple in the top of the fifth inning to stretch the Cardinals’ lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, pitcher Bill Camacho and the rest of the Cardinals denied the Padres a baserunner on another three-up, three-down defensive play.
The Cardinals’ Masaharu fired a two-run double in the seventh inning. In the ninth, teammate Tony Tenorio hit a double with a grounder to the right field before Pat Tenorio sent him home with a single.
Bill Camacho allowed only two runs before Jon Diaz replaced him and struck out two as the Cardinals sealed the deal, 17-8 to lead the series, 1-0.
If weather permits, the second game will be played tonight, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.
