ILLAM juniors 4th in World Series

MANILA, Philippines - The International Little League Association of Manila fell short in its bid to salvage third place when it lost to South Tampa, 7-3, in the 2009 Junior Softball World Series yesterday in Kirkland, Washington.

The ILLAM Juniors won three of their four matches in the eliminations and became the first team from the Philippines to make the semis of the 13-14 event during the last three years.

But they failed to deliver in the semis when they took a similar 7-3 loss to the Latin American team from Maunabo, Puerto Rico which went on to win the crown by beating the US Central team of Elyria, Ohio, 2-1.

The other ILLAM squad that saw action in the Senior Baseball World Series also failed to reach the finals following a 6-1 loss to Texas at the Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine.

The ILLAM Seniors came out eyeing a finals stint but was met by a rare grandslam by Texas hitter Michael Resnick right in the first inning.

Texas was scheduled to dispute the title with North Carolina of US West yesterday.

Puerto Rico combined the outstanding pitching of Jocelyn De Leon, some key defensive plays and timely hitting to edge a tough team from Elyria, Ohio, that had gone unbeaten in the tournament.

It’s a repeat performance for Manaubo, which also won the championship in 2007.

In the semis, the ILLAM Juniors were caught napping early on. They trailed 7-0 and never got into a position to win at the Everest Park in Kirkland.