PHL girls' team wins Big League Softball World Series, dedicates win to flood victims

Filipinos affected by the recent heavy rain and floods have a reason to cheer, after the Philippine girls' Little League team won its first Big League Softball World Series title in convincing fashion - and dedicated the win to them Wednesday (Thursday morning, PHL time). The Philippine softball team dismantled their opponents from Westchester, California in a 14-2, five-inning clinic in the championship game in Kalamazoo, Michigan. "[T]his game will be dedicated to the people from the Philippines who are experiencing a huge flood. We will dedicate this game to them," team manager Ana Santiago said after the game, according to a report on MLive.com. She added that this was a special game for the team drawn mostly from Manila as well, telling the girls that "If you want to be a champion, play like a champion. “We traveled 8,000 miles to go here because we wanted to be a champion; we wanted to be recognized; we wanted to be proud – Filipino proud,” she added. It was the Philippines’s first-ever Big League World Series title after runner-up finishes in 2008, 2010 and 2011, MLive.com reported. The feat prompted the US Embassy in Manila to tweet its congratulations to the team on Thursday.

Congratulations to Little League Philippines for winning the BigLeague Softball World Series! mlive.com/sports/kalamaz… @sbworldseries

— U.S. Embassy Manila (@usembassymanila) August 9, 2012

"Congratulations to Little League Philippines for winning the Big League Softball World Series!" it said. MLive.com reported that while the representatives from the Asia-Pacific region committed some errors, its offense allowed it to build a 7-0 lead after two innings. The lead grew to 14-0 before the West Region representatives from the Los Angeles area scored three hits. Filipina Rizza Bernardino had no strikeouts, but compensated with zero walks. “This is a fighting team,” Bernardino said. Also, all nine players in the PHL team had at least one hit. “They deserve [the title] – played hard, they fought back [from the early losses]. I mean, they lost the first two games and won seven in a row. They stayed hot all the way through,” said Westchester manager Darryl Lee. Lee's team had lost in 2007 in the Junior World Series championship game in Kirkland, Washington. Before Wednesday's big game, she said she had forbade the players from computers, Internet connection and mobile phones, so they could concentrate on the game. “They sacrificed a lot this tournament, so tonight whatever they want, I will give to them,” she said after the win. - AMD, GMA News