BAGO City softbelles, representing Area 4, came with a stunning performance late Thursday, December 12, when they ended Bacolod City's decades of softball supremacy with an 8-7 score to capture the 2019 Palarong Pambansa elementary softball tournament at the Bacolod City National High School softball ground.
Both teams were scoreless in the first two innings as pitching skills reigned but, Bago City clouters able to break the deadlock on Bacolod's defensive lapses in the third inning as the former posted a comfortable 4-0 advantage.
In the fourth inning, Bacolod got some breathing space when they scored two runs to cut the lead, 2-4. following a successful defensive stop in the lower fourth, the Bacolodnons took control of the game as they equalized the match, 4-all before scoring a late run to close the upper of fifth, 7-4.
But the Bago team able to score a run in the lower of the fifth for a 5-7 scoreline.
The former champions were denied by the Bago softbelles in the upper of sixth as the score withstood until the latter squad pulled two runs to tie the match anew.
The defense was the key play of the Bago City softbelles when they denied Bacolod of scoring chance in the upper of seventh.
With Bago City downed by two strikes, a crucial error by the Bacolod team changed the history.
For the first time in many years, Bago City will represent Negros Occidental in the Regionals alongside Bacolod City secondary girls, which defeated Area 5 (Moises Padilla) in the finals.