Smokey Mountain caps amazing Little League run, wins title

MANILA, Philippines – Gawad Kalinga Smokey Mountain completed a Cinderella finish as it downed last year’s winner and World Series veteran Sta. Cruz, Laguna, 13-3, to clinch the senior league softball title in the Little League Philippine Series at the Sumulong grounds in Marikina City Sunday night.

A team composed of poor kids living in a housing site that was usually a former garbage landfill in the 90s, the Smokey Mountain clouters found a diamond in the rough in talented Lovely Joy Redaja in sweeping the division in seven games and securing a spot in the Asia-Pacific Regionals set June 30 to July 6 in Clark City, Pampanga.

Redaja, 16, pitched magnificently as she allowed just three hits and struck out 11 batters in six complete innings while parking a Janel Cruz fastball over the fence and past the centerfield for a three-run homer on the bottom sixth that sealed it.

“Kargador sa palengke tatay nya pero kahit na ganun, masikap siya (Her father carries things in the market for a living but in spite it, she’s really a hardworker),” said Smokey Mountain coach Manny Llave, who started coaching and teaching the sport in his area for over a decade now.

It was a bittersweet win for Smokey Mountain as it avenged its heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to the well-funded Sta. Cruz squad in last year’s edition in Tanauan City that sealed the latter a berth in the Aspac and eventually the World Series in Bangor, Maine in the United States.

“Pinaghandaan talaga namin ito kasi tinalo nila kumi nung nakaraang taon (We really prepared for this event because they beat us last year),” said Llave, whose charges also slammed Sta. Cruz, 14-4, in their elimination round meeting.

Phl Sports Commissioner and Little League Phl administrator Jolly Gomez said Smokey Mountain’s recent feat is a triumph of the spirit.

“They served as an inspiration to all of us, this is what the Little League Phl Series is all about,” said Gomez.

In major league baseball, Tanauan City gave San Antonio, Zambales little room to operate as it hacked out a 10-4 win to crown itself champion for the second straight edition while putting itself in prime position to represent the Asia Pacific region in the World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania this year.

“We started out strong and finish solidly, those things really helped us,” said Tanauan mentor Romar Landicho.

All the Tanauan batters needed was a strong start sparked by an inside-the-park homer by Kenneth Torres that sent brothers John and Kean Natanguihan, each coming through with a base hit in the previous plays, safely home.

Eden Tapia then made it a three-run opening inning by hitting a home run himself.

It was all Tanauan from there as San Antonio, which has made heads turn here after barging into the finals by beating fancied teams, just couldn’t get its game going no thanks to the former’s superb fielding.

Failing to win it in the majors after reaching only as far as the semis, ILLAM struck in other fronts by topping junior and senior league baseball with a 14-7 and 13-3 wins coming at the expense of Muntinlupa both.

Iloilo, for its part, showed it’s still the epicenter of softball in the country after reigning supreme in both little and junior league of the sport with a 20-0 rout of Muntinlupa and a 12-1 smashing of Makati, respectively.

It was, however, the batters from Smokey Mountain though that came through with the worthiest win of the tournament.

Making do with enough funding and needing to borrow some equipment like bats and batting helmets, Smokey Mountain still ended up dominating the opposition as its other wins came over Naga, 21-0, Bulacan, 8-6, and Dasmarinas, 6-4, in the preliminaries before repeating over Bulacan in the semis, 15-5, and eventually Sta. Cruz.

“The girls that we have only wanted to play regardless of the circumstances,” said Llave, who thanked Gomez and organizers of this annual event.