Mustangs champions of the National Baseball League

A tense, back-and-forth finale on Saturday, April 19, 2025 saw the Mustangs clinch the National Baseball League championship with a narrow 6-5 victory over the Mellieha Northenders. The Mellieha Northenders selected Cesar Rodriguez to start on the mound in this must-win game while the Mustangs countered with Kevin Spiteri.

Rodriguez shut down the offense in the 1st inning, while also recording a strikeout, setting the tone for the Northenders. Mellieha opened the scoring early in the bottom of the first inning, as Matt Borg, Masashi Suzuki and Michael Bartolo got on base for Emilio Rivas who drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in the first run of the game. Owen Harnden followed with an RBI single, giving Mellieha a quick 2-run lead.

The Mustangs responded in the second inning, when Kevin Spiteri knocked an RBI single, narrowing the gap to 2-1. This was just the start though as in the 3rd inning the Mustangs offense erupted for 3 runs. Alfred Chen drew a walk to set the stage for Andres Susarra who connected on a two-run homerun to take the lead of the game. The Mustangs kept the line moving and added another run shortly after.

Given the 2-run lead, Kevin Spiteri took charge on the mound, shutting down the offense while recording 6 strikeouts. Mellieha’s conterpart, Cesar Rodriguez, settled down and completed 4 innings while striking out 5 batters of his own.

As the game turned to the 5th inning, the Mustangs’ offense came to life again. Andres Susarra, Gabriel Di Sabatino, Jorge Acosta and Kevin Spiteri all got on base to score 2 more runs for the Mustangs. Having a 4-run lead, the Mustangs brought in pitcher Andres Susarra in relief to preserve the lead.

Mellieha were determined to fight back. Masashi Suzuki doubled, Michael Bartolo singled and Emilio Rivas drove in Suzuki with a double to cut Mellieha’s deficit to 3 runs. Relief pitcher Clint Grima struck out the side in the 6th inning and maintained Mellieha’s deficit. The Northenders proceeded to rally again, when Emilio Rivas drove in Suzuki and Bartolo to cut Mellieha’s deficit to only 1 run.

With only 1 inning to go, Mellieha handed the ball to pitcher Michael Bartolo in relief who pitched a scoreless 7th inning to give Mellieha’s offense the best shot to tie the game. To close the game, Mustangs countered with closer Jorge Acosta. Mellieha’s Clint Grima singled and Mattheus Konno added another hit, bringing the winning run aboard. With the game on the line, Acosta rose to the occasion and shut down Mellieha’s offense to seal the Mustangs’ championship win.