Cardinals off to hot start in 2025 SBL season opener

The 2025 Saipan Baseball League Open Division is back, kicking off with a thrilling opener on Wednesday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

The defending champion Cardinals got off to a roaring start against the runner-up Padres, soaring to a definitive 18–8 victory after a huge seven-run final inning—signaling a competitive season ahead.

Despite the Padres drawing first blood with five runs in the first two innings, the Cardinals regrouped and took the lead in the third inning, 6–5. From there, the Padres were shut down by Cardinals pitching and managed to score only three more runs.

The Cardinals’ offense then exploded in the final inning, after already putting up five additional runs in the fourth and fifth. The entire lineup contributed to the rally, which began with Brian Camacho being hit by a pitch. RBI singles and walks brought in more runs for the Cardinals, sealing their win after the Padres failed to answer in their final at-bat.

Games are held every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 6:30 p.m., with 13 teams vying for the title: Cardinals, Padres, Phillies, Bears, D9ers, Athletics, Orioles, Blue Jays, Bandits, Falcons, Natives, and BlueShark.

Members of the national baseball team are also scattered among these teams to sharpen their gameplay ahead of the Pacific Mini Games in Palau this June. The team’s head coach is Jay Kintol, with head coach Juan Iguel, and coaches Giovanni Mira and Eric Palacios. A more detailed story by Marianas Press about the national team will be forthcoming.

SBL’s Kyle Hocog, the league coordinator, said that the season ahead is jampacked, with each team playing 10 games before the postseason for a total of 65 games.

The league then has a three-week break before and after the Mini Games, and will resume on July 14. Hocog, in a reminder to the players this season said: “I just want to remind all our players that are out on the field that they are the role models to the kids that are in the little league program and also the underarm fastpitch program that is under PSS.”

He added, “Whatever we do out on the field, respect the game, hold ourselves to a high standard, respect the officials, and that will translate over to when we have our adolescents watch and try to mimic us.”

Then to the community, Hocog said, “Please come out and enjoy the game of baseball—it’s definitely the CNMI’s pastime. Root for our favorite players, our family members, our friends, and also helping out with the foul balls, and giving them back to the field so we can use them to play. Please expect that we have some action packed games—if you can’t make it Wednesday, come on Thursday—we didn’t do this last season, where we didn’t have Friday night games—Friday night lights, it’s just beautiful, getting ready for the weekend.”

Hocog then said to keep a lookout for fundraisers for the national team as they prepare for the upcoming Mini Games. “We do have a golf tournament that we are planning,” he said. “Any support towards that will be appreciated.”