THE Philippines routed Indonesia-Red, 5-0, to snare the Asean Women’s Softball crown at the Senayan Sports Complex field in Jakarta over the weekend.
Using good hitting power and tough defense, the Blu Girls repulsed the stubborn Indonesians with Syrel Ramos twisting a two-hit job in the first four innings.
The hosts actually held the Blu Girls to just a hit in the first two innings until a triple by designated hitter Julie Mari Muyco sparked the RP bets’ rally in the bottom of the third inning.
Muyco also scored on a sacrifice fly by Adamson teammate Sherrylou Valenzuela.
The Blu Girls then made a three-hit, three-run attack in the next frame to turn what had appeared to be tight contest in a one-sided rout.
Lovelyn Maganda keyed that run, matching Muyco’s three-base-hit before pinch runner Joan Pioquinto followed Muyco across the plate on a fielder’s choice.
The Blu Girls first ended its eliminations campaign with a 9-0 rout of Singapore in just five innings as Joy Lasquite and Veronica Belleza combined for a one-hit job.
They later posted a 4-1 repeat win over Indonesia-Red in the upper half of the Final Four to move a win away from winning the crown.
“As I’ve been telling everybody, this team is marvelous, amazing,” Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines president Jean Henri Lhuillier said.
“It’s a good sendoff for the Blu Girls who will be competing in the coming Asian Games. This victory validated our claim that the Blu Girls deserve to be playing in the Asian Games which we earned already by finishing fourth in the Asian championship,” added Lhuillier. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)