The Philippine Men’s National Baseball Team punched its ticket to the medal round of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games with a dominant 21-1, seven-inning victory over Vietnam on Tuesday at the Queen Sirikit Baseball Stadium in Thailand, remaining unbeaten in the tournament.
Outfielders Paulo Macasaet and JR Vargas led the Filipino offense with three RBIs each.
Macasaet ignited the Philippines’ early onslaught, driving in John Matanguihan and Kenneth Maulit with a double to left field, fueling a six-run first inning.
Vargas capped the defending champions’ fourth consecutive mercy-rule win with a three-run, inside-the-park home run to centerfield, pushing the lead to 21-1 in the top of the seventh.
Now 4-0, the Filipinos face their toughest challenge yet: an undefeated host Thailand team, featuring Thai-American and Thai-Japanese talent, in a 3:00 PM showdown tomorrow.
The top two teams after the single round-robin elimination will battle for gold, while the third- and fourth-placed squads contend for bronze.
The Philippines’ pitching trio — James Nisnisan, Joshua Pineda, and MJ Carolino — was equally dominant, combining for 14 strikeouts of the 21 total outs.
Carolino closed the game with three strikeouts, fanning Duong Nam Anh for the final out to trigger the mercy rule.
Razhley Santos and Kent Altarejos added two RBIs each, while Matanguihan reached base in all four of his plate appearances, recording three hits, one walk, and scoring in every opportunity.
Vietnam’s lone run came from Ngo Doc Thuy’s bloop single, which brought home Tran Trung Kien in the bottom of the third. The loss dropped Vietnam to 1-4.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | x | x | 21 | 16 | ||
| VIE | 1 | x | x | 1 | 6 | 10 |
