By Aloha Alisasis
It was a battle of the unbeatens Monday afternoon as the Notre Dame Royals and Tiyan Titans both came into their ISA Baseball League matchup at 5-0.
After all was said and done, the Royals proved to be the team to beat with a 6-0 shutout over the Titans to take control of the league with one regular season game remaining.
Star pitcher Ricardo Leon Guerrero II once again shined on the big stage, tossing a complete game and a career-high 14 strikeouts while the offense scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back.
“I’ve grown to be confident on the mound from all the experiences I’ve had playing ball. These experiences have allowed me to be relaxed in tough situations. I knew I just needed to throw strikes, have fun, and rely on my team to play defense. I’d say the outcome was awesome.”
– Royals stud pitcher Ricardo Leon Guerrero II
GAME SUMMARY
In the first inning, Leon Guerrero demonstrated a strong start, quickly securing outs against the Titans. The ND offense exploded out of the gates with their five runs. Key moments included Leon Guerrero’s RBI double and Ean Lizama’s run-scoring hit.
In the second inning, Leon Guerrero remained sharp with two strikeouts despite allowing a runner on base.
The bottom half had the Royals Elijah Asuncion hitting an inside-the-park home run to deep center, extending the lead to 6-0 with no outs. That would be the last of the scoring as both defenses tightened up from there.
In the 3rd inning, Leon Guerrero was dealing with two more strikeouts, mowing down Kanoa Cruz and Averie Benevente.
The Royals looked to add to the lead, but a Tiyan double play stopped those hopes.
In the 4th inning, Tiyan presented ND and Leon Guerrero with its biggest threat as the Titans loaded the bases with no outs.
But Leon Guerrero dug deep and struck out the next three batters to shut down any chance of a comeback.
The Titans threatened again in the fifth with hits from their Kanoa’s as Kanoa Cruz and Kanoa Cepeda got on board with hits. But like the 4th inning, Leon Guerrero sat down the next three batters with his fastballs and curves.
Leon Guerrero finished off his masterful performance on the mound with two more Ks in the 6th inning.
Wendy’s Players of the Game, Leon Guerrero stated, “My favorite play was probably my boy Elijah Asuncion’s inside the park home run. It got us boosted up, excited to play, and to win the game.”
Third baseman, Salas said, “There’s still some work that needs to be done although the win makes us feel good going into the playoffs.”
ND wraps up its season against the GW Geckos on Wednesday, while the Titans’ game that needs to be completed is still not on the calendar.
The semifinals and finals were scheduled for this week, but with countless postponements throughout the season, many games still need to be made up. An updated schedule has yet to be released, but it will be reflected on the GSPN sports calendar once provided.
STANDINGS
Notre Dame 6-0
Tiyan 5-1
FD 4-2
GW 1-1-1
Sanchez 2-3-1
Southern 1-4
Guam High 1-5
Okkodo 0-5
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
QUICK HITS
