MIRI, The Sarawak men's softball team went down fighting 8-9 to Johor in their opening Group A match at Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN) Miri today. Sarawak fought back in the fourth and sixth innings after falling behind but still found Johor a tough nut to crack in the nearly two-hour match. Sarawak head coach Aaron Abel Donald was full of praise for his players despite the narrow defeat. 'We gave a good fight although we found ourselves trailing 3-8 by the third innings. Although we tried to stage a fightback, luck was not on our side and we ended up losing narrowly. 'Whatever it is, I'm extremely satisfied with my players' performance. We still have two more matches to go and I want us to win them so that we can advance further,' he told Bernama. Meanwhile, Perak edged Pahang 3-2 in a Group B clash. Softball, which offers a gold medal each in the men's and women's categories, began today and will end on Monday (Aug 19). Source: BERNAMA News Agency