Northern Mariana Islands defeat Guam in Pacific Mini Games baseball opener
Baseball is one of the nine sports on the programme. It was last featured in the multi-sport event in 2005. Fiji, Palau and Solomon Islands are the other three participants in the five-team tournament.
World No. 78 Northern Mariana Islands defeated No. 38 Guam, 4-1, in the opening game of the baseball tournament at the Pacific Mini Games.
No. 68 Fiji, No. 76 Palau and Solomon Islands are also participating in the event.
The Pacific Mini Games is a scaled-down version of the main Pacific Games. Both events run on a four-year cycle.
It was inaugurated in 1981 to enable smaller nations and territories to host events and compete against each other.
Baseball was on the programme in 2005 in Palau, where Guam went undefeated to win the medal.
The Pacific Mini Games 2022 features competitions across nine sports: athletics (track and field), badminton, baseball, beach volleyball, golf, tennis, triathlon, Va'A (Outrigger Canoeing) and weightlifting.
The Pacific Games, formerly known as the South Pacific Games, opened in 1963. It is a continental multi-sport event with participation exclusively from archipelagic countries around the Pacific Ocean. The next edition is scheduled for 2023 in Honiara, Solomon Islands.
Baseball was last featured on the Pacific Games programme in 2011 in New Caledonia. The Northern Mariana Islands defeated Guam in the final to claim gold. Palau finished third.
