Ol’Aces hold on to win Jr. title, 11-10

It’s better late than never as the last division of the 2026 Saipan Baseball League finally wrapped up on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

The Junior League division was cut short due to two super typhoons, but Ol’Aces held it down in the championships to win in nail-biting fashion, 11-10, over the Mariners.

The Ol’Aces jumped to an early lead as they got on the board first with four runs in the first inning. The Mariners then found their swing and scored three in the second to get within one, 4-3.

However, Ol’Aces lengthened their lead with four more runs at the bottom of the second for an 8-3 game. The Mariners then exploded in the fifth inning as they scored five back-to-back runs, while the Ol’Aces drove in just two more runs in the third and fourth for a 10-8 game. Ol’Aces then scored just one more run at the bottom of the fifth to make it 11-8.

With the pressure on Ol’Aces’ closer Liam Sablan, two runs scored at the top of the last inning for the Mariners to get within one, 10-11. But, with two outs and two strikes on the final batter, Sablan painted the strike zone to clinch the championship via strikeout.

Sablan said he felt a lot of pressure getting the final three outs to seal the win, but was happy when they finally won it. “Ever since my teammates started motivating me, [the pressure] went lower,” he said. “I felt happy because this is my first championship. I usually get second place.” 

As for his teammates, he said, “I love them and I give them and my coaches a shoutout.”

Sablan shared that he has been playing baseball since he was four and said that he loves it. “I love playing baseball. Ever since my dad passed, I started getting better and better,” he said. He then dedicated the win to his family and his late father.

For coach Palacios, he said that the championship feels great because this is also his first time claiming the victory as a coach/manager. He said of the group of boys, “I know that they worked hard and they’ve been playing together since they were All-Stars. They’re a really good group to coach—very easy to coach.”

As for the Mariners, he said, “Kudos to the Mariners, the players, the coaches. They have really good players. I also coached them in the All-Stars. Even the role players, they stepped up and they made the game really close… We only won by one. Thanks for giving us and the fans a great game.”

He then thanked their sponsors Pacific Amusement and Lucky Star Market, the parents, the players, and the others that helped out with the team.

The Ol’Aces roster was made up of Byron Cruz, Jr., Lashawn Ada, John Sablan, Dayton Marchadesch, Liam Sablan, Kaleb Reyes, Tiwrsormal Taisakan, Preston Santos, Aiden Lizama, Traevon Manglona, Kai’po Camacho, Xavier Nepaial, Eric Palacios Jr., and Timothy Galvan. The manager was Eric Palacios Sr., and the coaches were Austin Hocog and Jesse Reyes. The Championship MVP was Aiden Lizama. He went 4-for-4, had one RBI, pitched 4½ innings, recorded 11 strikeouts, and allowed one earned run.

After the game, a closing ceremony was held just as the skies poured rain, and they awarded the top three teams in the Majors, Seniors, and Juniors divisions. In the Juniors Division, the Ol’Aces took first place, with Aiden Lizama earning MVP honors, followed by the Mariners in second place and the Cobras in third. In the Seniors Division, the Fielders claimed the championship, with the NSA Braves finishing second and the Kagman Lions taking third. In the Majors Division, the Braves captured first place, with Chance Reyes named MVP, while the Dodgers finished second and the Cubs placed third.

They also had individual awards in the senior division. The stats are as follows: The batting leader was Aiken Norita of the NSA Braves with a .529 batting average. The Kagman Lions' Austin Camacho led in runs with 17, while Damian Palacios of the Fielders led in RBIs with 11. Roque Pangelinan of the Fielders led in singles with 10; Joel Cabrera of the Fielders and Aiken Norita of the Braves each had three doubles; Damian Palacios led in triples with three; Kayden Lizama of the Fielders was the home-run leader with two home runs; Austin Camacho led in strikeouts with 31. Damian Palacios led in ERA with a 0.00 ERA over 15 innings pitched. The Regular Season MVP was Damian Palacios, while the Senior Championship MVP was Nick Sablan of the Fielders, whose championship statistics were 3-for-3, three RBIs, two runs, two innings pitched, and two strikeouts.