Two tot baseball teams rule Asian tiff

MANILA, Philippines - The Razcals and Barakos of Tot Baseball Philippines wiped off first inning jitters and clobbered their respective Indonesian rivals in the final round to rule the Asia-Pacific Championships at the Senayan Baseball Stadium in Jakarta Saturday and gain entry in the World Series in July and August.

The Razcals wiped out a two-run deficit in the first inning with 11 big runs to rout the Indonesian team, 24-14, to gain the Asian slot in the Mustang World Series for 9-10 Aug. 1-4 in Burleson, Texas.

The Barakos also fought off a 6-0 Indonesian lead in the first inning with seven runs in the bottom of the first and another 11 in the third for a 25-10 victory that sent them to the Bronco-11 World Series slated July 25-28 in Chesterfield, Virginia.

The Indonesians rallied with seven runs in the third inning but the Razcals, relying heavily on pitching twins Kennedy and Kenneth Torres, kept their rivals at bay to secure the win.

So dominant were the Razcals that at one point the whole Philippine lineup made at least one hit in one inning. Pitcher-outfielder Kean Matnaguihan was named tournament MVP.

The Barakos also had initial problems when the Indonesian national team, led by their Japanese and Taiwanese All Stars, blasted doubles and triples in the top of the first inning for Indonesia’s 6-0 lead.

The Barakos came up with an explosive show of their own, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first inning through batting champion Reden Tapia and fellow slugger Dax Fabella.

Inspired by their exploits, the whole team responded by scoring in every inning, capping it with an 11-run attack in the third. Diminutive Ivan Tolentino became the surprise winner with superb pitching that kept the bigger, stronger Indons guessing where his next pitch was coming from. Tolentino was later awarded the MVP of the tournament.