Pinay clouters clinch World Series title

KALAMAZOO, Michigan – Team Manila, representing the Asia Pacific district, threw its weight around Westchester, California (West) in a five-inning domination, 14-2, to capture the Big League Softball World Series crown.

The AsPac champs peppered the overmatched West bets with 14 hits, led by a pair of two-run home runs by winning pitcher Rizza Bernardino and Mary Joy Floranza, to finally hit paydirt after falling short in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

The Pinay clouters, composed mainly of players from Adamson and backstopped by softbelles from University of Santo Tomas, University of the East and Polytechnic University of the Philippines, became the first squad from the international region to capture the diadem.

“We traveled 8,000 miles to come here because we wanted to be a champion. We wanted to be recognized. We wanted to be proud – Filipino proud,” said coach Ana Santiago, who also dedicated the victory to Filipinos back home who have been affected by the non-stop monsoon rains.

Team Manila completed a big comeback from a 0-2 start in the tourney, sweeping its remaining six games in the elims to reach the finals against West, which swept its elims assignments.

Phl IX immediately made its batting power felt in its first time at bat, making three runs off three hits to seize an early 3-0 margin. Team Manila followed it up with a four-hit, four-run explosion in the second frame, capped by Bernardino’s four-bagger that also sent in Krisna Paguican for a 7-0 lead.

The Filipinas made the Californians pay for a couple of wild pitches to score a run each in the third and fourth to widen the gap, 9-0, before Floranza’s two-run homer with two outs sparked a five-hit, five-run romp in the fifth settled the issue for good.

Bernardino, who led Adamson to the UAAP diadem last year, was also a stonewall at the mound, allowing only two runs on five hits. She also threw 42 strikes in a 53-pitch stint.

Adamson University president Fr. Gregorio Bañaga Jr., C.M., congratulated Team Asia-Pacific, saying its World Series conquest was “like a breath of fresh air for many in the Philippines who are reeling from the flooding.”

“We hope that this victory inspires Filipinos not only in sports but in overcoming every challenge that life presents us,” he said.