July 30, 2006

Team Guam overtaken 14-3
By Akash Shringi
For Pacific Daily News

A 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning is no big deal in the Big League World Series. Just ask Team Guam, which held the lead but later lost by a 10-run mercy rule decision yesterday in Easley, S.C.

"We committed nine errors," Guam Big League manager Pat Leon Guerrero said yesterday via telephone from South Carolina. "You cannot win a ballgame like that. No way. Even if you commit five errors in a game, it's hard to recover."

Representing the Asia-Pacific region, Guam took a 2-0 lead against U.S. East representative Delaware in the top of the first inning. Delaware, however, scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and ended up winning the contest, 14-3.

The Guam players and its coaching staff have 24 hours to figure out what they need to do to win today's game. Guam (0-1) plays U.S. West representative Thousand Oaks, Calif.(1-0) at 7:15 (Guam time) today. Thousand Oaks defeated Latin America I representative Puerto Rico 10-5 in the opening day yesterday.
"It's only going to get tougher and tougher," Leon Guerrero said. "But the boys know what they need to do. I saw most of the teams here and I'd have to say everyone is equal. I know our boys are able to match up with any team here. They just need to control their errors. Like I always tell them, pitching. That's the key here, pitching."

Mike Aguon scored the first run in yesterday's game on a Derwin Aguon single. Aguon later came home on Alejandro Diaz's double. The first-inning hits were the lone hits produced by Aguon and Diaz. Guam was out-hit in the game, 10-5.

Aaron Sanchez, the starting pitcher, was dealt with the loss. He gave up the five runs, four of which were unearned.

Don't count this team out
If anyone knows Little League baseball on Guam, they know this Guam team has the experience to go far in South Carolina.
The 2006 Guam team is loaded with some of the island's top 17-and-18 year-old baseball players. In fact, eight of the 13 players played in the 2001 or 2002 Little League World Series. Seven of them played for Guam's first ever LLWS team in 2001.

Those seven players are Derwin Aguon, Matt Barcinas, Freddy Cepeda Jr., Alejandro Diaz, Kurt Diaz, Kris Kaneshiro and Aaron Sanchez. Matt Barcinas played for the 2002 team along with Mike Bautista. The other five players on the 2006 BLWS team are Jarrett Barcinas, Mike Cruz, Josh Daga and Southern High School baseball all-stars Jared Alerta and Jesse Alerta. The Alerta brothers guided Southern High to an interscholastic baseball title in the 2005-06 school year.

Lone Guam team in World Series
Now that it's official the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is going to represent the Pacific region at the 2006 LLWS, the Guam Big League All-Stars are the island's only team competing in a Little League world series event.
"Our boys know that the pressure is on them," Leon Guerrero said. "They have to come out and play their A-game. I have confidence in my players."