Bacolod Big Leaguers rout ILLAM in best-of-3 opener

TANAUAN, Batangas — Bacolod-DepEd showed class and spunk in overwhelming International Little League Association of Manila (ILLAM), 11-1, yesterday in the opening of their best-of-three series for the girls’ softball Big League (16-18) division championship of the 2004 Little League Philippine Series here.

The Bacolod Big Leaguers, winners of the Senior League category last year, never gave their ILLAM counterparts, the defending champions, room to recover since they seized initiative from shortstop Yesel Aguilar’s solo homerun at the bottom of the first inning and catcher Claire Laurilla’s three-run round-tripper in the second.

The Bacolod girls, supported in their campaign here by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, Manila Sports Council chair Ali Atienza and the Manila Little League Charter president Robert Evangelista, only need to repeat over ILLAM tomorrow to clinch the title and represent the country and Asia-Pacific in the World Series set in Kalamazoo, Michigan this August.

In other games, host Tanuan pulled off victories over Quezon City ( 29-6) in the 11-12 little league boys’ baseball, over Floridablanca ( 14-10) in the 13-14 class and Makati ( 15-5) in the 14-16 division.

Illam, meanwhile, routed Tuguegarao, 11-1 in the boys little league, Makati ( 17-3) in the big league and Cavite, 10-9, in the girls softball senior league.

Other matches saw Bacolod beat Calumpang, 12-11, and Nueva Ecija blast San Pablo, 16-1, in the 11-12 category; Calumpang whip Batangas, 21-4, in 13-14 class and Isabela spill Cavite, 15-5, in the 14-16 level.