PHOTO CREDIT: Egay delos Reyes
The Philippines clobbered Indonesia, 11-1, in five innings on Friday to begin its quest for a World Cup berth in the Women’s Asian Baseball Cup at Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground in Hong Kong.
It was a breeze for the Filipina batters as they scored three runs in the first two innings then pulled away with eight in the next three to eventually take an abbreviated win due to a 10-run mercy rule.
Coach Egay delos Reyes’ squad is aiming for a top two finish in Group B in order to advance to the Super Round, and most importantly, gain a place in next year’s Women’s Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Canada.
Also in the group are defending champion Japan, which won the previous edition in 2019, and South Korea.
Four World Cup spots are at stake in the competition, with the other two coming from Group A composed of Chinese-Taipei, China, host Hong Kong and India.
The Pinay clouters placed third in 2019 held in China to claim a berth in the 2020 World Cup, which was eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mary Nicole Padasas scored off a throwing error to put the Philippines in front in the bottom half of the first inning before two runs were added in the second when Remille Herrero touched home plate on a passed ball and Helga Campos drove in Madelene Domaug with a single.
Indonesia pulled one back in the top half of the third but Diana Valderama singled to center field, allowing Mery Ann Ramos and Herrero to score for a 5-1 Philippine advantage.
A four-run binge in the fourth and two more in the fifth eventually sealed the outcome for the Filipina batters.
Starter Jojielyn Lim struck out four and allowed one run on three hits in four innings before Ramos came in relief to fan two during a scoreless fifth.