Filipino batters also annex softball crown

PALEMBANG – A gritty bunch of sluggers came back from two runs down in the first inning with a barrage of hits that shattered the Indonesians in the next two frames, giving the Philippines a 7-3 victory and the gold medal in men’s softball, its second in the Southeast Asian Games.

There was a brief silence in the first inning when the Indonesians pummeled pitcher Florante Acuna with two hits that gave them a 3-2 lead. But the Filipinos charged back with two runs in the third inning for a 4-3 lead.

Then in the fourth inning, the Filipinos erupted with three more hits that produced two runs, giving them 6-3 cushion against the Indonesians who failed to make a comeback behind losing pitcher Ridwan Teuku.

“We are dedicating this win to our fellow Filipinos and all those (sponsors) who helped us in our mission,” said head coach Roberto Ituralde.

The Filipinos, who first held the title in 2007 after losing the gold to Indonesia in 1997, got the feel of strong competition in the first game of the preliminaries when they edged Indonesia, 2-1.

“That was an exposure game for the boys. That balanced our team,” said Ituralde, at the helm of softball resurgence in Zamboanga.

Like the Blu Girls, the Blu Boys have emerged as the team to beat in the SEA Games but they came to the games prepared to fight the Indonesians on their home turf.

“The Indonesians have improved, and even if we led at one point, I knew they would come back but our boys did their job,” he added.