World number 78 and tournament hosts, the Northern Mariana Islands, claimed the gold medal at the event after a thrilling 12-9 win over world no. 38, Guam, in the final match of the baseball competition, played on Friday 24 June at Francisco ‘Tan Ko’ M. Palacios baseball field in Saipan. Guam claimed the silver medal, while world no. 76, Palau, earned the bronze medal.
Guam scored four in the third frame to grab a 4-0 lead, but host Northern Mariana Islands recovered with a four-run fourth to deadlock the match, and a five-run fifth to take the lead in the Gold Medal Game.
Lefty Joshua Jones was the winning pitcher for Northern Mariana Islands, tossing six innings in relief, while allowing eight hits and five runs, with nine strikeouts.
Earlier on Friday, the host team defeated Palau, 2-0, in the second semi-final, which doubled as the bronze medal game. Jones pitched a two-hit, 17-strikeout shutout to send his team to the final.
A total of five nations participated in the baseball competition, with world no. 68, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands completing the field of teams.
Baseball has not appeared on the Pacific Games sports program since the 2011 edition in New Caledonia when the Northern Mariana Islands also won the gold medal.
Article adapted from the WBSC Oceania website.