Phillies vs. Braves in Jr. champs; Ol’Aces advances to Majors semis

It’s the Phillies vs. the Braves in the Junior Division championships of the 2024 Natibu Sports Association Youth Baseball League, while Ol’Aces eliminated the Cobras to advance to the semis of the Majors Division.

The Phillies and Braves bested their foes last Sunday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Baseball Field to secure their finals spot.

First, the Phillies took on the Comets and zoomed past them, 13-3.

The only three runs for the Comets came in the second inning by Nath Borja, Sidro Kani, and Carmelo Pangelinan.

On the other hand, it was a slugfest for the Phillies as they put up a run in each inning. After the three-run second inning by the Comets, it was tied, 3-3, but the Phillies’ Elijah Dela Cruz scored to put them up by one, 4-3.

The Phillies’ pitching staff then dealt against the Comets as they struck out the side in the third, and went on to retire the rest of the lineup in order again in the fourth, fifth, and sixth.

The middle of the order—Damien Palacios, D.J. Camacho, and Nick Sablan—then scored for the Phillies for a 7-3 game. They busted the game wide open in the fourth and fifth as they scored five, then wrapped it up with one last run in the sixth.

Then, the Braves shot down the Blue Jays Jr., 18-5.

The game ended via mercy rule as the Braves exploded in the third inning. They put up 10 runs after a three-run first inning for an overwhelming lead.

The Blue Jays had just one run in the first and three in the second for a 4-13 game.

The Braves weren’t done yet as they scored five more in the fourth, while the Blue Jays only came up with one more.

The Braves’ Justin Garde and Herman Iguel led the charge with three runs each.

In the first game of the day, Ol’Aces won over the Cobras, 14-4, to get a semis spot.

Ol’Aces got to work early and rounded the bases four times in the first. Meanwhile, the Cobras got two on the board for a 2-4 game. However, Ol’Aces kept the lead as they scored three in the second while Cobras put just two more to make it 4-7.

Seven more runs came in for Ol’Aces in the last inning—two from leadoff batter Preston Santos. Santos led the team with his four runs overall.

The Cobras were then silenced for the rest of the game as Ol’Aces pitchers brought on the heat and kept them from scoring for Ol’Aces’ win by a 10-run margin.

In the Majors’ semis, it’s the Braves vs. the Marlins, and the Lil’ Blue Jays vs. Ol’Aces.

In last Saturday’s playoff games of the Majors Division, the Braves blanked the Pirates, 15-0; the Marlins won over the Comets, 8-5; and the Lil’ Blue Jays beat Lil’ Cubs, 9-7.

The Junior Division championships between the Phillies and the Braves is set for 12pm, while the Majors Division championships is right after at 2pm.