Carabaos are first-ever Jr. champs
by Jonas Terrado
Caraboas 4, Tigers 3
The Cagayan Carabaos are closing in on completing a grand sweep of the pilot series of Junior Baseball Philippines.
After winning all of its six matches in the elimination round, the Carabaos picked up where they left off as they stormed to a five-run second inning to dismantle the Alabang Tigers, 9-2, in Game 1 of the league's first-ever finals series.
Cagayan got a superb hitting job from Bryan Lumbres while pitchers Amber Plaza, Tsuyoshi Horibata and Aries Oruga combined to held the Tigers to just five hits.
The Carabaos, which comprised mostly of the best young players from the province of Batangas, can clinch the league's first-ever title in Game 2 set for July 4 as some of the players from both teams will compete in the Asia Pacific Regionals, a qualifier for the World Series tilt in the United States set later this month.
A win by the Tigers will force a deciding third game on the next day.
Lumbres highlighted the second with a two-run double to left field that scored Kevin dela Cruz and Jezreel Rosita. He finished with two RBIs (runs-batted-in) off three hits in four times he batted.
Plaza was adjuged as the winning pitcher after he struck out five batters and gave up just one run off three hits in three innings of work.
Alabang, which earned the last finals seat by sweeping the Marikina Indians on Independence Day, were hampered by its fielding woes after making six errors.
Ben Cope scored in the third on a fielders choice to give the Tigers their first run in the third frame.
The other run came in the seventh-and-last frame as Pelos Remollo scored from third on after a groundball by Dio Remollo, who a day ago hit a home run at the spacious Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium, was poorly fielded by Rosita at second base.