The Philippines salvaged a semblance of pride with a 2-1 victory over Peru on Saturday, ending its lethargic but reassuring stint in the USA Softball International Cup at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia, USA.
“I never doubted that a win will be coming. That close victory over Peru showed that the Blu Girls have been learning from their previous losses and are applying what they have learned. The need now is for the girls to be more consistent as we prepare for the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Olympics,” “ said Jean Henri Lhuillier, ASAPHIL President and President/CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier, which for a long time has been supporting softball in the country.
The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls drew first blood when Angelie Ursabia tripled on a 1-0 count in the first inning to score the game’s first run.
Peru, however, answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning to knot the count at 1-all.
The Philippines had another run in the fourth inning and pitcher Royevel Palma made sure Peru would not score again, preserving the win for the Blu Girls after eight losses in this prestigious women’s softball tournament.
Palma earned the win after pitching for six innings and allowing only four hits, zero runs and striking out five batters.
Ursabia led the Philippines with two hits in three at bats.
The Philippines is slated to play in the WBSC Softball Asia/Oceania 2019 Qualifying Event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be held in Shanghai, China from Sept. 24 to 29.