The Philippine Blu Girls saw their winning run halted by undefeated China, falling 7-0 in five innings to bow out of gold medal contention in the 20th Asian Games softball tournament at Anjo Sports Park in Aichi, Japan, on Thursday.
After stringing together three straight wins, the Nationals could not find their stroke against Chinese pitcher Chai Yinan, managing just two hits all game, both coming from Skylynne Ellazar.
The Philippines dropped to 3-3 but remains in contention for the bronze medal, with the country holding on to fourth place with one elimination-round game remaining against Hong Kong tomorrow at 7 a.m. (Manila time).
China, meanwhile, secured a spot in the gold medal match with its perfect 6-0 record. It will face Japan tomorrow to close out the elimination round.
Wang Mengru opened the scoring for China in the second inning, grounding into a fielder’s choice that allowed Xi Kailin to score and give the Chinese a 1-0 lead.
The game remained within reach through the first four innings, with China holding a 3-0 advantage before exploding for four runs in the fifth to activate the mercy rule.
The rally came with two outs already recorded.
He Xiaoyan grounded out to open the inning before Yan Siyu struck out looking against Blu Girls reliever Sydney Vitangcol.
However, back-to-back singles by Gui Yuanyuan and Ren Min kept the inning alive before cleanup hitter Xie Jiaxin launched a deep drive to right-center field for a three-run home run, doubling China’s lead to 6-0.
Xi Kailin then doubled in the next at-bat, prompting Philippines head coach Ana Santiago to call on Kikay Palma from the bullpen to settle the situation.
Palma, however, walked the first batter she faced before intentionally walking Lu Ying to load the bases and set up a potential force out at any base.
The strategy backfired as Palma hit Sang Yujuan with a pitch, allowing Kailin to score and ending the game via the mercy rule.
