It was another successful season for the Negros Occidental Softball Team as they bagged the first runner-up and the championship titles at the Little League Philippine Series – Visayas Regionals held at the Kamagsangkay Culture and Sports Complex in Pambujan, Northern Samar, February 5 to 11.
The all-girls Softball Team was hailed the champion in the Majors Category after scoring 26-0 against the Tacloban team, winning by regulation. In the Juniors Category the Negrense softbelles took the first runner-up title after a defeat against the Bago City Team with a score of 3-1 in seven innings, a press release said Tuesday, February 14.
Bago City also had a good start with a 3-point advantage (3-0) against the Negros young batters after the second inning in the Seniors Category. Team Negros, however, took the lead after the fourth inning, scoring 6-3 in a total of seven innings. It was a good bounce-back for the Negros Occidental Softball Team with notable homeruns from Rhea Manolo and Jeanne Ubay.
With their recent victories, the Neg. Occ. Softball Team (Majors, Juniors, and Seniors) have qualified for the finals in Ilagan City, Isabela, on April 9 to 16.
The top 2 winning teams of every division in the Finals will vie for the right to represent the Philippines in the Asia Pacific Regional Tournament in July.
Apart from Negros Occidental, Tacloban and Bago City also qualified for the Little League Philippine Series Finals in Isabela.
The participation of the Negros Occidental Softball Team in the Little League tournaments was made possible through the support of Governor Eugenio Jose V. Lacson, the press release said.
Softball is one of the priority sports under the Abanse Negrense Grassroots Sports Development Programs. *