Blue Jays set finals date with Falcons

The Blue Jays first baseman is set to catch the ball ahead of a Braves runner during their semis game in the Natibu Sports Association Girls Fast-pitch and Boys Slow-pitch Softball League last Saturday at the Capital Hill Ballfield. (Roby N. Pamintuan)

The Blue Jays outgunned the Braves in five innings, 18-8, to claim the second and last finals berth in the Natibu Sports Association Girls Fast-pitch and Boys Slow-pitch Softball League last Saturday at the Capital Hill Ballfield.

The Blue Jays will play the top-ranked Falcons in the finals this Saturday at 2pm.

With the Blue Jays barely ahead of the Braves at the end of the third inning of their semis match, 6-4, the former strung together eight runs and shut out the latter in the pivotal fourth inning to gain full control of the game. The Blue Jays’ momentum carried over into the top of the fifth inning, as they added four more runs.

Jun Celis led the Blue Jays in the fourth inning as he delivered a crucial round-tripper that sent Henry Fleming and J.P. Celis home. Before Jun Celis’ homer, Fleming and J.P. Celis each hit singles, which set the table for the Blue Jays to gorge themselves on runs after Jun Celis’ timely hit. Trevon Lieto also hit the ball out of the park in the fourth, while Adam Salalila, Cody Foreman, James Salalila, and Jordan Babauta rounded out the Blue Jays’ eight-run scoring output.

Then in the fifth and final inning, Jordan Babauta and J.P. Celis launched one homer apiece. Babauta brought with him James Salalila, while the J.P. Celis gave Fleming passage home. Babauta and J.P. Celis’ hits were enough to push the Braves closer to the exit door.

Down by 14, 4-18, going into the last inning, the Braves were pressured to score at least five runs to extend the game. However, they fell short despite getting a big shot from Bing Nakamura. Nakamura’s swing launched the ball past the fence and sent Heath Camacho and J.J. Sablan home, while Harry Moses made the fourth and last run for the Braves, as they were not able to overhaul the deficit.

The Blue Jays had five homer in the semis win, two of them came from J.P. Celis, while the Braves got three. Fleming and J.P. Celis led the Blue Jays with four runs apiece.

J.P. Celis acknowledged and praised his team’s blue-collared work ethic during the game.

“The positive things about my team is that we try our best and grind hard,” J.P. Celis said.

While J.P. Celis is elated that his team marched into the finale, he acknowledges that his team still has important adjustments to make before they can perform at their best He also noted that they will probably be working more on hitting base hits in preparation for the battle for the championship trophy against the Falcons.