Adamson University relied on a timely fourth-inning surge to defeat De La Salle University, 3–1, securing a bounce-back win and creating a three-way tie atop the UAAP Season 88 Softball standings after Round 1, Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The Lady Falcons had absorbed their first loss since Game 1 of the Season 86 (2024) Finals, last Saturday against the same University of the Philippines squad. This victory now forced a three-way tie at the top of the standings at 3–1 in this tournament held in partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission.
Adamson climbed to the top after the first round thanks to a superior total quality balance tiebreaker over University of Santo Tomas and UP, needing a three-run response in the fourth inning after conceding a run to DLSU at the top of the frame.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Jhaycel Roldan, sparked the rally with her second hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth. A throwing error by Lady Batters shortstop Daniela Cabangon on a Mae Langga hit advanced Roldan into scoring position.
A passed ball and a Jeelyn Pajotal hit later drove in three runs — Roldan, Langga, and Neomay Mahinay — giving Adamson a 3–1 lead that held as the final score.
“Sinabi ko lang sa kanila na despite the loss, hindi pa rin kami out sa tournament. Pero kailangan naming mag-double time ngayon kasi ang tournament format naman is top two ang pasok sa Finals. Lahat naman kami nag-e-aim para do’n,” said long-time head coach Ana Santiago.
“One game at a time; kailangan lang namin na hindi masyadong damdamin ang pagkatalo. Kailangan every game, ma-switch kung paano tayo babalik. Whatever happened naman sa last game, ‘yung next game is a different story. So, training lang tayo uli, focus lang uli tayo, and forget the loss but learn from that.”
Adamson was limited to just three hits in the game, with Roldan driving in two — one in the first and another in the fourth inning — while Pajotal drove in the other run in the fourth, finishing with one RBI.
Glory Alonzo, the Season 85 Finals MVP and Best Pitcher, anchored the Lady Falcons’ defense, surrendering just one hit and one run to the Lady Batters in the top of the fourth. The senior hurler also struck out five batters, including two in that crucial fourth frame.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
The second round will begin on Saturday at the same Malate venue.
“I’m praying and hoping na lumabas naman sa susunod ‘yung palo ng mga bata. Serious naman sila, and at the same time, masisipag naman sila. Yung hardwork nila talagang andyan naman eh,” said Santiago, sharing her hopes for the squad in the second round.
“Sabi ko nga sa kanila kanina, ‘A win is still a win.’ Let’s analyze and ‘yung second round, bagong start uli; we’re hoping na may pagbabago, kahit kaunti lang.”
It was the Lady Batters who scored first in the fourth inning after Cassandra Inot’s single to center field led to a run, as she stole home on a botched play by Trisha Hicayen at first.
Inot finished as the only DLSU batter with a hit, while her teammates reached base twice more due to Adamson errors.
Laira Silverio stood her ground against the reigning 12-time champions, but the fourth-inning hits and defensive miscue ultimately negated her efforts, allowing Adamson to claim the win.
| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DLSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| AdU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | x | 3 | 3 | 1 |
