Golden Quest for NMI Baseball Team in Palau

Defending gold medalists, the NMI Men's National Baseball Team has been grinding at the very place where they won it all in the 2022 Pacific Mini Games—the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field—in preparation of defending their title in the upcoming 2025 Palau Pacific Mini Games from June 29 to July 9.

Three years after the CNMI hosted the Mini Games and its national baseball team clinched the championship, the team is now on a mission to defend that title as they face off against 2022 runner-up Guam, bronze medalist and host nation Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Fiji.

Star pitcher Josh Jones—who closed out the final inning against Guam in that unforgettable championship game—is back from the states and ready to take on the Games once again.

When asked if he feels any pressure coming back to defend the title, he said, “It's going to be a lot tougher. We're going into enemy territory. It's different this time around because in 2022, it was here back home with all our fans behind our back, and now we're going to Palau. I believe they have redemption in mind—me as well, I have redemption in mind when we won the silver medal against Palau, so we're even.”

Jones said he believes the team is ready and that he's excited to get things going. “I feel like our team—our bond—is clicking really fast. All of the boys have experience abroad representing NMI, a few college baseball players—one that just got done a couple months ago, and me a few years ago. But, we feel great—we still got room to feel better.”

Spencer Dickinson, a 23-year-old pitcher and third baseman who just graduated on a baseball scholarship from Oklahoma Baptist University, said he arrived on Saipan at the beginning of June. On what it means to represent the NMI on this stage, he said, “It always feels good to represent where I'm from, so I'm just happy to be a part of the team and just try to get to work with the boys.” He added, “Most of the boys are older than me, but I've always wanted to play with them and finally got a chance to play with some of the guys I've been wanting to play with, so I'm just grateful for the opportunity.”

Head coach Luis Iguel Jr. said that with the mix of returning champions and new players, he believes the team can defend their title. From the first day of practice, he noted, the team has shown consistent improvement across the board. The roster was selected from teams in the Saipan Baseball League, along with several players from off-island.

Iguel shared that their roster includes a lot of utility players. “It's great to have utility players. We have starters and then we have position players that can come in and pitch. They can come in to relieve and close the game out.”

On how confident he is in the team, he said, “I'm very confident in my boys. With the mix that we have—we have speed, power, we have a lot of pitchers, and we have players that can play multiple positions.”

The squad includes remnants of that gold medal team along with dynamic fresh talent. The roster consists of Anthony Salas, Anthony Tenorio, Ben Jones Jr., Brian Camacho, Darion Jones, Elijah Aughenbaugh, Francisco Lieto, Franko Nakamura, Harry Nakamura Jr., Jerald Cabrera, Jeremiah Suel III, John Peter Sablan, Jose Deleon Guerrero, Joseph Lifoifoi, Josh Jones, Kevin Villagomez, Lamarc Iguel, Nathan Camacho, Nokki Saralu, and Spencer Dickinson. The coaching staff include head coach Luis Iguel Jr., Giovanni Mira, Eric Palacios, and manager James Kintol.

The team is flying out on June 27.

The 161-delegation Team Marianas is supported by the Office of the Governor, Saipan & Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, Joeten Daidai Foundation, ASC Trust, Triple J, Tan Holdings, Altanx, Quality Distributors, IT&E, Mobil, McDonald's, Chinese Association on Saipan, GPPC, Marianas Press, Matson's, LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort, Dial-Rent-To-Own, NMI Local Peace Corps Reunion Committee, Y.K. Corporation, Shell/AFE Marianas, LLC, Wushin, I Love Saipan, BC Corporation, and Artman.