THE Philippine Blu Boys reasserted their mastery over Hong Kong yesterday, erupting with six runs in the lower third inning and cruising to a 7-0 win to bag the bronze medal in the 12th Men’s Softball Asia Cup at the Haruno Stadium in Kochi, Japan.
With the win, the Blu Boys, who also beat their HK rivals 8-0 last Tuesday, earned a return trip to the Men’s World Softball Cup group stage in 2024 after finishing sixth in the 17th edition of the competition in Auckland, New Zealand last year
Defending champion Japan completed a five-game sweep of the six-nation field by clobbering upset-conscious Singapore 4-0 in the championship match.
The top three teams qualified for the group stage of the world meet.
The Blu Boys missed a rematch with the Japanese after dropping a 5-9 decision to the surprising Singaporeans in the preliminaries last Monday, winding up with a record of three wins and two losses, their other setback coming at the hands of the Japanese (0-6).
Julius Rosh dela Cruz lasted the full five innings and was virtually flawless on the mound, limiting the opposition to a single hit, one base on balls while striking out nine HK batters in the shutout victory.
The batters of coach Jasper Cabrera peppered Hong Kong pitcher Yung Sing-ling with 10 hits, with catcher Kenneth Torres going 2-for-3 at bat with two hits, two RBI (runs-batted-in) and scoring twice, while first baseman John Norwen Rosendal had one hit, two RBI and one run.
Rosendal busted the Hongkong defensive dam in the bottom third with a double to left center, sending Janzen, who had earlier singled to third, and Melvin de Castro, who had followed up with a double to left field, home.
A single by Torres to right field also enabled slugger Justine Rosales, who was intentionally walked, and Rosendal to score the next two runs, and the Blu Boys settled the issue right there and then.
