Rizal opened the tournament with three straight shutout victories to pace Group B in the 2018 Cebuana Lhuillier-Philippine Junior Women’s (18-under) Softball Championship at the Sto. Niño Softball Field in Marikina City, starting its campaign with a 9-0 win over the Quezon City All-Stars behind the heroics of pitcher Sathia Romero Salas, who threw three strikeouts.
Rizal then opened the busy game schedule on Sunday with a 28-0 shellacking of San Ildefonso with Mariel Sumanting pitching four strikeouts before scoring another 4-0 victory in the afternoon, led by Alex Romero-Salas, who collected eight strikeouts in a superb pitching display.
Taking the early lead in Group A, meanwhile, was Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology of Cebu, which raced to a 3-0 start after winning over Naga, 7-1, Talavera, 10-0, and Tacloban, 13-0.
Defending champion Tanauan also remained unbeaten in Group A after blanking Tacloban, 15-0, and thumping Los Banos, 10-3.
A total of 18 teams, divided into two groups, joined this weeklong tournament supported by Cebuana Lhuillier.
The top two teams in each group after the single, round-robin elimination will advance to the semifinal round.
“This is a good turnout of teams in this tournament as they come from different parts of the country and represent the best available talents in their respective places. This will assure ASAPHIL that we will have a wider base of young players, I wish all the teams good luck,” said ASAPHIL President Jean Henri Lhuillier, a long-time supporter of softball in the Philippines.
San Miguel defeated Los Banos, 11-1, and Naga, 15-0, to also remain undefeated in Group A.
In other Group B action, Pasig edged Manila, 5-4, on Saturday and outplayed Quezon City, 9-4, on Sunday to raise its clean record to 2-0.
Miriam College displayed its might by thrashing San Ildefonso, 22-4, on Saturday but succumbed to Manila, 3-13, on Sunday.
This prestigious annual tournament organized by the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines will culminate with the championship match on Saturday.
The organizers also clarified that Royevel Palma of Tanauan, being a member already of the Blu Girls, is not eligible anymore to play.