Manilenyas settle for silver medal finish anew
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 12 Aug 2010
KALAMAZOO, MI (via Pera Padala) ? Grand Rapids of host State Michigan bored a big hole on Team Manila?s defense in a whooping 14-4 regulation six-inning victory Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) to recapture the Big League girls softball World Series at the Vanderberg ballpark here.
The self-destructing Golden Girls surrendered six runs right at the top of the first inning on two hits, both homeruns, following four-fielding errors that decided the issue that early in a game expected to be close owing to the way Manila rose from the grave of elimination following losses of their opening two games by hacking out six consecutive wins.
A pair of miscues by third base girl Elvie Entrina allowed Grand Rapids leftfielder Lauren Bowman and second base girl Kayla Smart who both reached home on a three-run homerun Kelsey Bandstra, by keying off the harrowing defeat by the Filipinas, that entered the record books as one of the most lopsided decision in a championship playoff of the 28-year history of the 16-18 division.
A single by centerfielder Caila Ferro and another error, this time by losing pitcher Julie Marie Muyco sent the former scampering home paving the way for Liz Hamming to come up with the enemies? second four-bagger in that period alone and the relief of Muyco by Veronica Belleza.
With the Asia pacific titleholder completely disarmed and the title victory in sight, the Central American qualifiers continued running roughshod on the Golden Girls? first line of defense punishing Belleza with 10 of their 12 total connections the rest of the way as the predominantly pro-Grand Rapids standing room only crowd at the ballpark celebrated the rest of the way.
Games statistics had the Filipinas committing six errors although indecisiveness in fielding and throwing that allowed their rivals on added to the woes of the Girls, whose participation here was supported by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala, Le Soleil de Boracay and Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solution.
? How can you win with those errors,? head coach Filomeno ?Boy? Coidinera rued after the embarrassing loss, which he added, lacked the quality of a championship matchup. ?Except for two or three, the Girls were not playing as seriously as they should.?
Codinera?s assistants Ana Santiago and Randy Dizer agreed echoing their wards? mind were not in the game but somewhere else.
?The Girls know what the opposition was doing and they knew, too, what to do, but the Girls just failed to execute,? Dizer said.
The Manilenyas though will return home Thursday (Friday in Manila) bringing along, besides the runner up trophy, the International plum having swept the two other foreign entries ? Puerto Rico and Canada.
Even the hosts? team manager Jeff Edgerle could not believe the easy way his girls disposed off the Golden Girls.
?Yeah, our plan was to jumped at them (Golden Girls) early precisely to avoid cramming up later in the game. Luckily we roared ahead by six right in the first inning in what proved to be enough cushion on the impending rally?, It was a combination of a strong offense and strong offense,? Edgerle assessed.
The Filipinas, indeed, came up with a flash of brilliance in the fifth inning, but all they could do was reduced the 10-0 advantage after four completed inning to 10-4 in the fifth. Two more runs though in their side of the fifth and in the second led game officials to stop the game and hand Grand Rapids
Their fourth diadem, counting similar victories in 2002, 2004 and 2008, the last also at the expense of Manila.
It was the Filipinas? second silver medal finish after similar windup another team fashioned out in two years ago, thus, becoming the only second non-Americans to do the honor since Big League softball was introduced in 1982.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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