Falcons rally to take softball title

Ping Norita hits a grand slam in the fifth inning to power the Falcons to a come-from-behind 14-13 win over the Blue Jays in the title match in the Natibu Sports Association Boys Slow-pitch Softball League last Saturday at the Capital Hill Ballfield. (Roby N. Pamintuan)

The Falcons pulled off a come-from-behind victory over the Blue Jays, 14-13, in the title match in the Natibu Sports Association Boys Slow-pitch Softball League last Saturday at the Capital Hill Ballfield.

Down by 7 after four and a half innings, 4-11, the Falcons mounted a furious comeback, scoring 10 runs at the bottom of the fifth inning to seize the upper hand, 14-13. After overtaking the Blue Jays, the Falcons leaned on their defense in the last two innings to cling to the shaky lead and win the championship.

Left fielder Ping Norita anchored the Falcons’ rally in the pivotal fifth inning, as he unloaded a grand slam that brought Angel Iguel, Aven Evangelista, and Awang Tudela home. Earlier, Dung Maratita also homered and brought with him Kobe Lifoifoi, while Baby Riungel, Nosh Nakamura, and Tonchu Norita also reached to put the Falcons on top.

The Falcons hung on to the one-run lead after six complete innings, as their defense forced the Blue Jays to 1-2-3 at the top. Then at the top of the last inning, with two outs and runners on first and second base, Yaguel caught a fly ball from Lang Camacho at centerfield to end the finals in favor of the top-ranked Falcons.

Before the Falcons mounted a comeback, the Blue Jays boosted their bid for an upset after starting the finale with seven runs at the top of the first inning and added four more in the fourth to take control of the game. Camacho hit a grand slam in the first inning, while Trevon Lieto fired off a homer that sent two of his teammates home in the third to give the Falcons a scare.

However, the Blue Jays’ efforts went for naught, as the Falcons got their acts together in the fifth inning and delivered at crunch time.

“It was a really great feeling [to win the championship], especially coming back from a 7-point deficit with 2 innings left,” Falcons captain Aven Evangelista said. “I’m very proud of my teammates for not giving up, and we just continued to play our game. I just had to do my part, and I know my teammates had my back. Overall it was just [good] teamwork and that’s how we won the championship.”

Since several of the Falcons players have been playing in softball and baseball leagues since childhood, they knew they are capable of digging themselves out of a big hole.

“We’ve been playing together as a team ever since we were little,” Evangelista said. “We have so much chemistry together, so it was nothing new to us. All we had to do to win the championship was play hard and have fun!”

Norita echoed Evangelista’s sentiments, saying that their relationship goes deeper than being mere teammates.

“I feel so good to be a part of the Falcons. They have always been my team. The Falcons are my family,” Norita said.

“I would like to thank my manager throughout the years, Manny Evangelista, and to my teammate Aven Evangelista for being a good captain for the team. I’d also like to thank all the fans that came out to support us,” he added.