Manila softbelles duel N Carolina side today

DELAWARE – Asia Pacific champion Team Manila–Philippines will clash against USA Southeast champion Morganton–North Carolina today (Thursday 8 a.m. in Manila) in one of the featured matches in the 2015 edition of the prestigious World Series Girls Big League Championship at the Layton Field of the sprawling Pyles Center at Lower Sussex here.  

The 2012 Big League World Series champion, coming off a brilliant win last Monday over USA West champion Antelope Valley–California, is favored to hurdle a tough North Carolina team, which absorbed a close loss yesterday to USA Central Champion South Bend–Indiana, 2-1.

The Manila batters are on top of the standings in Pool A with one win and no loss, followed by Antelope Valley–California and South Bend–Indiana, which both carry a 1-win, 1-loss slate, while North Carolina is winless after its initial outing.

But the highly anticipated match today is the re-scheduled Pool B battle between the two teams from host Delaware, the 2014 Big League defending champion host District 3–Millsboro (1-0) and USA East champion Kent County (2-0).

Tied on top of Pool B are USA Southwest champion District 5–Louisiana and Kent County, followed by Millsboro.

The Big City softbelles are backed by Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, Philippine Airlines, and the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI).

“A win today against North Carolina will cement our place in the semifinal round. It is very important that we stay focused because we cannot afford to blow this opportunity,”  Manila Little League president Rafael “Che” Borromeo said.