Carolina.
The Asia-Pacific champions did not win the World Series championship last year bit they beat Canada and Europe, recalls assistant coach, Juan K. Tenorio who supervised the team’s pitching practice at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield last Friday.
Five in the team who are now one notch up, Tenorio said will have their second chance to win this year’s World Series.
They are Shane Yamada who beat the Philippines in the Asia-Pacific meet and was the RBI leader in Saipan Big Little League’s regular season; Nikki San Nicolas who topped the regular season’s pitching leaders with 1.40 ERA and 29 hits in 35 innings and Jesus Iguel who topped the batting leaders with 452 batting average and was instrumental in their Asia-Pacific victory. The two others are Vincent Sablan Jr., who was the regular season’s second best pitcher with 2.40 ERA and Smith Regis who was also among the regular seasons’ batting leaders with a batting average of 344.
Tenorio expressed belief that this year’s Asia-Pacific contenders are tougher than ever after winning a very competitive championship two weeks ago.
NMI Big League All Stars beat the Philippines, 8-7.
Aside from the veterans, Tenorio said they now have three players who played in the Senior League championship last year.
Giovanni Ayuyu and Ben Leon Guerrero were selected to the All Stars team for the first time last year and played in the World Series in Banger, Maine.
Leon Guerrero was 2006’s RBI champion but was not selected in All Stars that year.
Now in the Big League, Ayuyu and Leon Guerrero got their second chance to play in the World Series together with former Senior League player, Vicente Cabrera.
“All these boys,” Tenorio said are good players, as most of them can pitch.
Among the team’s best pitchers, he said are Yamada, Vicente “Taco” Camacho,
San Nicolas and Elton Santos.
But what the team can count on is their fielding. Speed which is a key factor in good defense is another thing that the boys possess.
“Pitching will come, but good defense will really help them win the ballgame,” Tenorio said.
The Little League World Series’s defending champion is South Carolina who shut out Puerto Rico last year.
The other members of the Asia-Pacific team are Ryan Ada, with 333 batting average; Jesus Borja, 421 batting average; Timothy Cruz, 438 batting average; Lawrence Dikito, 410 batting average, 4.80 ERA; Mario Salas, 353 batting average and Juan Tenorio Jr., 361 batting average, 13 RBIs.
