| SCOREBOARD |
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H |
| UST (0-1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| DLSU (1-0) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 7 | 8 |
The DLSU Lady Batters, for the past four UAAP seasons, were either in last place or tied at the bottom of the standings. Last season, the only team that the DLSU Lady Batters were able to defeat was the ADMU Lady Batters.
The DLSU Lady Batters, led by rookie pitcher Jamica Arribas, controlled a young UST Softbelles team to win 7-3 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium last Saturday.
The 1st inning saw both teams put out the 1st three batters of each team with DLSU pitcher Arribas striking out UST senior Kristine Lacupa. The scoring picked up at the top of the 2nd inning with UST rookie Celistine Palma hitting a single home run to put the UST Softbelles up 1-0. A catching error by DLSU 3rd baseman Vanessa Borbon gave next-at-bat Mary Luisse Garde a single. With Cristy Roa at bat, Garde was able to steal 3rd base. Roa then hit a single leading to a Garde run.
The next three at bat for UST were put out consecutively after. With the UST Softbelles up 2-0, JArribas hit a single coming from a field error from shortstop Lyra Gustilo. Two passed ball errors by UST catcher Palma gave DLSU two runs courtesy of Arribas and Patricia Belarmino. A grounder by Mercy Arroyo gave Judie Ann Arroyo another run to give DLSU the lead, 3-2.
Excellent pitching and fielding from the DLSU defense only allowed one more run the rest of the way with Palma scoring a run at the top of the 4th inning. On the flipside, UST starting pitcher Garde struggled at the bottom of the 3rd by giving up a single to Borbon that eventually led to a run. Mary Ann Antolinao then replaced Garde at the bottom of the 3rd inning.
Arribas scored another run in the inning to give DLSU a 5-2 lead. Batting also became a problem for the UST Softbelles. UST head coach Sandy Barredo shuffled the team’s batting order to start the 4th inning, but the team continued struggling to score against the fielding of DLSU. The Lady Batters from Taft scored runs at the bottom of the 4th and the 6th courtesy of Mary Joy Son.
The DLSU Lady Batters will face the UP Lady Maroons on Wednesday, January 28 while the UST Softbelles will face the defending three-time UAAP Champions the Adamson Lady Falcons.
