Skoba player pose for a group photo with the championship trophy of the 1st CNMI Labor Day Tournament.
SKOBA ended the three-day weekend with a bang as they claimed the men’s division championship of the 1st CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament by outlasting Pound Town, 8-7, at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field on Sunday.
Skoba was unstoppable from start to finish and had a clean record throughout the entire tournament. Pound Town proved to be their toughest opponent.
The opening inning of the championship game went by quickly. Pound Town, who was first to bat, had one runner on base before they were handed three outs.
In the bottom half, Skoba nearly broke the silence as first at bat Ping Santos made his way to third base. However, Pound Town collected three consecutive outs highlighted by a double play to end the inning.
Skoba’s Thorn Sablan connects a single during a softball game in the 1st CNMI Labor Day Tournament during the Labor Day weekend. The games were held at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field and Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Softball Field.
Both teams started to find their rhythm as more scoring opportunities were created throughout the second inning.
Eventually, Skoba’s Jay Kintol turned a double into a scored run brought in by the next batter, Jerald Cabrera, for an RBI single and the lead, 1-0.
In top of the third inning, Pound Town went on a scoring spree. Nosh Palacios and JR Suel hit back-to-back singles while Ben Jones Jr. brought in Palacios, earning an RBI single along the way.
Marc Iguel followed up with a two-RBI single while two more RBI singles were notched by Darion Jones and Vince Torres for a 5-1 lead.
But Pound Town’s time in the spotlight was short-lived as Skoba returned the favor in the bottom half of the third.
Things started rough as Skoba was quickly handed two outs, but they managed to stay afloat with a series of singles that were advanced through stolen bases and later turned into seven scored runs with Jonah Flores, Tony Salas and RJ Joe contributing an RBI each to regain the upper hand, 8-5.
Pound Town players pose for a group photo with the 2nd place trophy of the 1st CNMI Labor Day Tournament.
Throughout the next four innings, rain started to pour. Skoba failed to score again while Pound Town gradually worked their way back within reach as they squeezed one run in the top of the six contributed by Darion Jones with an RBI single while Watz Taisacan brought in Luis Iguel for another run and an RBI single to cut Skoba’s lead to one.
But it was the end of the line for Pound Town as they were met with three consecutive outs — two flyouts and a pickoff — giving Skoba the win and the men’s division championship, 8-7.
Great feeling
Skoba player Jay Kintol said he was happy he played in a Labor Day softball tournament at home. “[It’s a] great feeling being able to bring the tournament back home, to the CNMI, and have the folks on island experience a little of what we experienced stateside. It was a challenge with only two fields to work with. However, thanks to the great committee members that put the tourney together, we managed to make it work,” Kintol added.
Kintol is an avid participant of the Labor Day softball tournaments held annually on the U.S. mainland from 2006 to 2021. From 2006 to 2007, he played with the Salem Trenchers, then moved to Boise, Idaho, where he played for Pac-Chain.
Kintol is also part of the 12-member committee that organized the 1st CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament.
“The tournament had great teams,” he said. “We had teams from our neighboring islands, Rota and Tinian, and teams from the BASA Sunday League, family teams, as well as teams and players from the SBL.”
He added, “Overall, as a committee, we thought the tournament was a success. The messages we received from the coaches and players at the event, even from folks who weren’t present (but managed to catch some of the games on the live feed), speak volumes about the tournament turnout.”
The women’s division championship game will be featured in the next edition of Variety.
