| SCOREBOARD |
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| ADMU (0-2) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| UE (2-0) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | – | 7 | 8 | 2 |
Last UAAP season’s 4th place finisher, the UE Lady Warriors, are off to a 2-0 start. This time grinding out a win over the hapless Ateneo de Manila University Lady Batters 7-4 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium last Wednesday.
3rd year Lady Warrior starting pitcher Jonavie Jerezano started-off slow for the Lady Warriors in giving-up a total of 3 BB’s (base on balls) in her first three pitches in the game. Ateneo batters that were walked were Rosella Cruz, Nikki Borromeo, and Ira Nevalga. But out of those 3 walks, only Borromeo was the only one to convert on a run from a single by rookie Katrina Villa-Real to give ADMU a 1-0 advantage.
Jerezano was able to find her footing in the 2nd inning as she struck-out 3 straight batters from the Blue side. Moreover, the scoring also picked-up for UE in the same inning as the Lady Batters from Katipunan were plagued by constant fielding errors. Back-to-back fielding errors by 3rd basewoman Bea Parma eventually led to a run by Junaiza Jaspe of UE. Then, a double RBI by Imee Salvador led to runs by Lovely Redaja and Charlene Quintos. The inning ended with UE on top 3-1.
The Lady Eagles fought hard in the 3rd and 4th innings to tie the game up. A Nikki Borromeo run coming from a deep center single by Kat Altomonte in the 3rd cut the UE lead to just one. Jerezano was relieved of pitching duties for rookie Lovely Redaja after that play. Then, in the 4th inning, Rosella Cruz long hit to left field led to a run for Clarisse Dacanay to tie the game.
The Lady Warriors then grabbed the lead for good at the bottom of the 4th inning. With two batters out to start the inning for the Lady Warriors, the next batters on-deck came out swinging for the fences. With Lourdes Blanco and Genessa Francisco on base, UAAP Season 76 rookie of the year Roxzell Niloban hit a homerun deep into center field for her 3rd RBI for the day.
The Ateneo defense held up for the last two innings including a huge double play to end the 5th coming from a grounder caught by Lala Cruz to oust Jaspe on 2nd and a throw to 1st base to knock-out Quintos. The fielding of the Lady Warriors negated the offense of the Lady Batters though to end the game with a final score of 7-4.
Last year’s super rookie Roxzell Niloban led UE with a run, 2 hits, and 3 RBI’s including a homerun that put her team up for good. Supplementing her effort was rookie Lourdes Blanco scoring 2 runs, 2 RBI’s and 4 hits with 3 coming from a single and another one for a 2B.
The now 2-0 Lady Warriors next play last season’s runners-up the NU Bulldogs at 8am on Saturday while the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Batters will face the DLSU Lady Batters at 12nn on the same day.
