WITH the clear night skies above, players in the Leo Palace Baseball League made their way to the Leo Palace Resort baseball field for some action around the diamond. In the Amateur Division, the Talofofo Rangers were set to take on Sakudee. Backed by the stellar pitching of Josh Aguigui, Sakudee managed to deal the boys from “God’s Country” a 5-0 shutout loss.

Aguigui started off the fall season where he left off in the spring season with a masterful performance against the always respected and strong team of the Rangers. Sakudee wouldn’t need to supply much run support as Aguigui held the Rangers to only two hits offensively.

It wasn’t until the second inning when the game’s first run was posted on the board. Sakudee’s John McDonald got things started for his team offensively by leading off with a double on a hit down the right field line. Moments later, the Sakudee lead was 1-0 after McDonald touched home plate on a successful double-steal.

Despite giving up a run early in the game, Talofofo’s starting pitcher Kagan Rabago would find a comfort zone and settled down. However, it wasn’t until the fourth inning when Sakudee ignited another offensive run. John and Jeremy McDonald got the inning started with a single and bases-on-balls to put two runners on base immediately. On the ensuing play, Ben Borja nailed a two-RBI double to drive in two runs. Before the Rangers were able to get out of the inning, Sakudee scored two more runs to make it a 5-0 game.

The five-run lead was all Aguigui needed as he went seven innings allowing five Ranger runners on base, while tallying nine strikeouts. With the victory, Sakudee improves to (1-0), while the Rangers drop to (1-2) on the season. Jose Santos and Terrence Pablo had the Rangers’ only hits in the game.

AM-PCR defeats Rangers in AAA Division

A close game with solid pitching, the AM-PCR Angels would break it open with a five-run fifth inning and take the win over the Rangers 10-1.

The Angels’ offense kept pressure on the Rangers pitchers most of the night with the Angels scoring in every inning but the two. The Angels started off the scoring in the first inning with RBI-singles from Derwin Aguon and Alejandro Diaz. The Rangers would answer with a run in the bottom half of the first with Angelo Taijeron hustling around for a triple and coming in to score on a throwing error.

Angels starter Gerald Borja would settle down for the first five innings allowing only one run and four hits while striking out three. The Angels' offense would keep scoring adding two more runs in the second and fourth innings before breaking open the game with a big fifth inning.

Ryan Martinez was 2-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base from the leadoff spot for the Angels and Randy Alcantara was 2-for-2 with two runs. The Angels improve to 2-0 on the season with Borja picking up the win. The Rangers picked up four hits as a team despite falling to 1-2 on the season with RJ Cruz picking up the loss on the mound.