The baseball and softball competitions at the 30th South East Asia (SEA) Games are in the final stages, with the medal games to be played this weekend at The Villages, Clark, Pampanga, Philippines. The three events have their first finalists qualified. The Philippines advanced to the gold medal game in baseball and women’s softball, while Singapore made the final in men’s softball. The three competitions will finish on Sunday.
The playoff for the softball final will continue on Saturday, while the baseball competition round robin finishes the same day to define the final positions of that phase.
In the women’s softball event, the Philippines advanced to the gold medal game with a convincing victory over Malaysia 12-0. The host nation scored multiple runs in each of their three offensive opportunities, including a 6-run first inning, and a 4-run third inning, to secure their spot in the final, to be played next Sunday. The Philippines remain perfect in the hunt of their 10th gold medal at the regional games.
In the other game of the playoffs, Indonesia stayed alive in the tournament beating Singapore, 8-4, to secure a medal. On Saturday, they will play the bronze medal game against Malaysia; the winner will face the Philippines in the final, while the loser will earn the bronze medal.
On the men’s side, Singapore scored four runs in the first three innings of the first semifinal to stun the Philippines, advancing to the final with a 4-3 victory. The host team will now play Indonesia in the bronze medal game, who beat Thailand by a score of 5-3. The Indonesian squad rallied in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs to take the lead and secure the win.
The two softball bronze medal games will take place on Saturday. In the women’s competition, Indonesia will take on Malaysia at 9 a.m. local time; while the men’s national teams of the Philippines and Indonesia will face off at 10 a.m. The loser of these games will take the bronze, while the winners will advance to the finals, to be held on Sunday.
The baseball competition resumed with two games on Friday after a day off. The Philippines defeated Indonesia, 14-1, finishing the round robin undefeated and securing a spot in the final on Sunday with four wins.
In the other game, Thailand defeated Cambodia, 14-0, and remain in play for the second spot in the gold medal game. On Saturday, Thailand will close the round robin against Indonesia, while Cambodia will play Singapore. Both games will define the final standings in the opening round.
Thailand and Indonesia arrive at Saturday’s game with a 2-1 record, so the winner will finish in second place and advance to the final to battle for gold against the Philippines; the loser will play for the bronze medal.
On the other hand, Cambodia and Singapore, still winless after three games, will meet for the fourth place in the round robin and the right to play the bronze medal game.
Both medal games will be played on Sunday.
