JUNIOR NATS BLANK TRITONS IN UOG CLASSIC

PRESS RELEASE – The expectations of a close winner’s bracket final between the Guam Junior Nationals and the UOG Tritons did not take shape on Saturday at the George Washington High School Baseball Field, as the Junior Nationals defeated UOG 9-0 on the afternoon as the Nationals moved to Championship Game of the UOG Baseball Classic next Saturday and the Tritons must face the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in an elimination game.

The Junior Nationals started slowly, scoring single runs in the 1st and 2nd innings and then 2 more runs in the 3rd inning to lead 4-0 after three innings of play. But the Tritons struggled to get going at all, only managing 2 singles off Arren Yatar in the first three innings of the game.

Both teams did not score from the 4th through the sixth innings, but the Junior Nationals broke the game wide open in the top of the 7th inning by plating 5 runs on 5 hits and one walk to lead 9-0 and UOG could not manage any offense and was shutout for the first time in the history of the new generation of baseball at the University of Guam.

The Junior Nationals got 15 hits on the day including 2 doubles in the 5 run 7th inning with several players having multi-hit games. Arren Yatar pitched a 7 inning shutout for the Nationals, allowing 5 hits with 6 strikeouts and no walks. 

Both O’Neil YoBech and Dominic Pangelinan were ineffective on the mound for the Tritons, with YoBech taking the loss for UOG. Pangelinan and Kyle Martinez had 2 hits each for the Tritons. 

The Junior Nationals are now 4-0-1 in the tournament and move to the Championship Game of the tournament next Saturday at 2 pm at the George Washington High School Baseball Field. The Tritons are now 3-1-1 in the tournament and must play the Cardinals on Sunday at 2 pm in an elimination game, with the winner facing the Junior Nationals for the championship next weekend and the loser is out of the tournament.

The Cardinals got their first win in the tournament on Saturday at Noon with a 5-4 win over the Braves. 

The Braves led 3-1 after 2 innings on Saturday and the Cardinals would score a single run in the 4th and 2 runs in the 5th to take a 4-3 lead. The Braves tied it up in the bottom of the 6th inning with a single run, but the Cardinals scored again in the top of the 7th to take a 5-4 lead and they would hold the lead in the 7th to win the game.

The Braves were eliminated for the tournament with 1-4 record. The Cardinals improved to a 1-4 record themselves and face the Tritons on Sunday in another elimination game.