THE Hustlers stayed true to their name as the defending champions hustled their way to victory with a late-game rally to edge the Braves 11-10 in the title match of the Islandwide Coed Bud Light Softball League Sunday on Tinian.
First at bat, the Braves came out swinging with Peter hitting a three-run homer to give his team the upper hand. The Braves continued to connect hits with Lucio and Bradley nearly rounding the bases, but the Hustlers were able to stop the run with the three outs needed.
On the Hustlers’ first turn at bat, ZD, Lag, Wes and Dustin connected hits, eventually reaching home plate to snatch control 4-3.
Although the Braves managed to even the score at the top of the second inning with a single run courtesy of Heinz, the Hustlers retaliated with four more runs thanks to Lag, Wes, Leop and Ding to maintain the lead, 8-4.
However, during the next four innings, the Hustlers were nowhere to be seen, allowing the Braves to make a comeback.
Slowly but surely, they erased the deficit with two runs in the fourth and fifth innings that were highlighted by Bradley’s solo homerun.
Then at the top of the sixth, the Braves notched three more runs delivered by Lucio, Bradley and RJ to regain the upper hand, 9-8.
At the bottom of the seventh inning, it was the Hustlers’ turn to rally as they scored three runs to snatch the lead once again, 11-9.
The Braves had one more chance to stay alive but they could only score one run which gave the Hustlers an 11-10 victory and the championship.
Taking third place was the Familia which triumphed over Manga’Chong in a high-scoring game, 27-14.
Post-game statistics
Champions
Hustlers
2nd place & Pennant champs
Braves (7 wins, 1 loss)
3rd place
Familia
Best offensive team
Hustlers (117 = 14.6 ppg)
Best defensive team
Braves (60 = 7.5ppg)
Individual awards
Top 5 HBA Leaders
Ramon Santos 28 (.536)
Rudy Lazaro 27 (.593)
Andrew Cruz 33 (.606)
Wesley Walker 32 (.656)
Dustin Sablan 30 (.667)
Top 5 RBI Leaders
Ramon Santos 9
Peter Cepeda 9
Marvin Cruz 10
Rudy Lazaro 13
Dustin Sablan 14
Most Strike-outs
Dennis Borja 21
Best Pitcher
Andrew Macaranas 3.90
29 earned runs
52 innings
MVP Regular Season
Dustin Sablan
MVP Championship
Dustin Sablan
Sportsmanship Award
Battin’ Bees
The Hustlers’ Dustin Sablan connects a hit during the championship game of the Islandwide Coed Bud Light Softball League on Tinian.
