Argentines shut out hard luck Blu Boys

The Philippine Blu Boys were held to just one hit in suffering a 6-0 loss to defending champion Argentina on Sunday in the Men’s Softball World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand.

Michael Pagkalinawan’s single in the fifth inning prevented the Blu Boys’ from suffering a no-hitter to an Argentinian side that leaned on winning pitcher Martin Gonzalez and reliever Roman Godoy, who combined for 17 strikeouts.

It was the second straight defeat for the Philippines, which a day earlier opened its campaign with a narrow 1-0 loss to the United States.

Starter Juliuz dela Cruz gave up a three-run homer to Alan Peker that broke a scoreless tie for the 2019 World Cup winners with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Dela Cruz was relieved after coughing up Peker’s round-tripper and the Filipino batters eventually succumbed to another setback at Rosedale Park

Argentina improved to 2-0 after beginning its title-retention bid with a 3-1 victory over Cuba.

Next up for the Blu Boys on Monday is Cuba, which totes a 1-1 record after bouncing back with a 7-0 thrashing of the Czech Republic.

The top three teams in the group advance to the super round while the lower three squads will be relegated to a placement round. INQ