Santiago powers Makati to nat’l girls softball title

HENNA Santiago broke the ice with an RBI in the fourth inning and then held off the enemy at the mound as Makati City pipped Sta. Maria, Bulacan, 2-1, yesterday and bagged the 2015 National Inter-Secondary Girls Softball Championship title via a sweep at Sto. Niño field in Marikina.

Henna, who later won the tournament’s MVP and best pitcher plums, sent Tin Bautista home with a big blast to left center field, giving Makati the psychological boost to withstand Sta. Maria’s rally in the final inning.

Makati pounced on consecutive errors by Sta. Maria to go up, 2-0, after six innings.

Sta. Maria tagged Santiago with a pair of hits, one by Alma Tauli, as they narrowed the gap to 2-1.

Another Sta. Maria uprising in the last inning sent runners to second and third bases, but Santiago stranded them, ending the threat with excellent pitching.

Manila whipped Miriam, 12-0, earlier to clinch third-place honors.

The Makati softbelles, who swept the eliminations and whipped Manila, 12-5, in the semifinals, won the top purse of P25,000 with Sta. Maria and Manila receiving P15,000 and P10,000, respectively.

The other awardees were Makati’s Angelu Gabriel (best hitter), Tauli (best slugger), Ma. Charlotte Sales, also of Makati, (most number of home runs), Gabriel (most number of stolen bases), and Trisha Tiozon of Manila (most number of RBIs).