Seven former and current UST Tiger Softbelles played a key role in the historic first victory of the Philippine women’s baseball national team’s in the Women’s Baseball World Cup on Wednesday in Tainan, Taiwan.
The national team includes UST’s Helga Campos, alongside former Tiger Softbelles Christine Bautista, Angel Bedano, Shyla Mae Celis, Mharnie Dela Cruz, and Erika Fernandez.
The Philippines began the Tainan group stage with a 3-0 defeat to defending champion Japan on Tuesday, before bouncing back with a 6-0 shutout victory over Cuba at the ASPAC Secondary Stadium the following day.
The Filipina batters continued their winning run with a 6-2 triumph over Great Britain later Wednesday, moving into solo third place in the group.
Bautista played a crucial defensive role against Cuba, surrendering just one hit in four innings while keeping the Cubans off the scoreboard. Bedano and Campos also scored during the Filipinas’ five-run fourth inning.
Against Great Britain, Celis gave the Philippines an early lead with a double, while Fernandez crossed home plate on Bedano’s sacrifice bunt. Lim replaced Nichole Padasas on the mound in the fifth inning and kept Great Britain scoreless over the final two frames.
The consecutive victories gave the Philippines its first-ever win in its Women’s Baseball World Cup debut and kept the Filipinas’ hopes of advancing to the 2027 World Cup Finals alive.
The top three teams from the Tainan group will qualify for the 2027 Women’s Baseball World Cup Finals at Rivets Stadium in Rockford, Illinois, where they will join Group Rockford qualifiers U.S.A, Australia, and Canada.
In the UAAP, the Tiger Softbelles are coming off their fourth straight podium finish after securing third place last season.
