Tanauan enters Senior League Softball WS final vs Texas

MANILA, Philippines — Asia-Pacific representative Tanauan leaned on Royvel Palma’s splendid pitching to shut out East champion Massachusetts, 8-0, and barge into the Senior League Softball World Series championship game for the first time yesterday (Manila time) in Lower Sussex, Delaware.

Palma held the Americans to only three hits and struck out 14 and walked none in a brilliant performance over seven innings while the Tanaueña batters did their job offensively and tagged East with 13 hits to seal the milestone finals stint.

Aspac seeks to go all the way to the world title today (Manila time) against Southwest’s Texas District, which advanced via a 2-1 upset of erstwhile unbeaten host in the other semis.

The Filipinas wasted little time taking the headstart against East as Mae Langga belted a run-scoring double to open scoring in the first then Kyla Sophia Aala and Jeelyn Pajotal blasted an RBI double and single, respectively, to make it 3-0. They unloaded three runs in the fourth anchored on Pajotal’s triple and Mae Langga’s single to widen the gap to 6-0 and made another two-run binge in the sixth to put the game beyond East’s reach.

Pajotal (3-for-4, three runs) and Mae Langga (3-for-4) led the searing offensive and accounted for two RBIs apiece with Jam Joyce Rasco (2-for-3, two runs), Marika Joanna Manaig and Aala (one-for-three plus one run) each sending one runner home.

The other Phl softball team competing in the worlds, Bacolod already bombed out of contention over in the Junior League division in Kirkland, Portland.

Bacolod exited with a 0-2 loss in the quarterfinals to Europe-Africa yesterday.