Blu Girls struggle in the cold, bow to host Chinese

NANJING, China — Cold weather zapped the energy out of Team Philippines as it bowed to power-hitting China, 7-0, Monday in the seventh Junior Women’s World Softball Championship at the newly-built $2.2-million Nanjing University of Technology grounds here.

With the temperature dropping to 5 degrees centigrade, the Blu Girls turned ice-cold right in the early going, enabling the vaunted Chinese squad to hit three runs at the bottom of the first.

Little League Softball World Series veteran Esmeralda Tayag held her ground in the next two innings but a single to left field by Wei Dong Mei sent Li Li home for another run by the Chinese.

Another single by Jiang Jing, also to the left field, sent Wei rushing home for the host squad’s fifth run, forcing RP coach Roberto Ituralde to relieve Tayag although Bacolod City native Johanna Caunga failed to stop the Chinese juggernaut that netted two more runs.

"It was so cold the team could not get their game going," said softball chief and Manila Rep. Harry Angping (third district), who personally oversees the team’s campaign here.

Chinese pitcher Qi Jia pulled off a no-hitter in a no-relief job against the Filipinas, sending the host team to their first win in this quadrennial meet for women aged 19 years old and below.

The Blu Girls try to bounce back against the Koreans, who trailed the Aussies, 0-3, in four innings at presstime.

"Hopefully we could get back with a win against Korea," said Ituralde.

The team’s Nanjing stint is backed by Century Tuna, Oishi and Liwayway Marketing, Colours, the Philippine Sports Commission, Pagcor, Presidential Adviser for Chinese Affairs John Ng, Cathay Pacific Steel, Dowell Packaging, Larry Villareal and China Water, Inc.

In Group B action, second seed United States and third ranked Chinese Taipei downed their respective rivals with the Americans beating the Netherlands, 8-1, and the Taiwanese trouncing the Argentina side, 9-5.

Softball Notes: Unknown to many, the Chinese pitching coaches are Filipinos – former Blu Boys Ulysses Mejia and Ronelon Pagckaliwagan. Mejia, who also coached the junior women team in 1999, has been coaching China for six years now while Pagkaliwagan joined Mejia only last August. The two said RP was obviously hampered by the cold weather. "Obvious naman na nahihirapan sila sa lamig," they said. Jess Yabes, RP’s consul-general to Shanghai and four other provinces and cities including this scenic river city, also went home sad after watching the Blu Girls play. But the former Ambassador to Singapore also blamed it to the freezing cold. "It’s only our first game, we still have a chance to get back," he said before returning to Shanghai.