Adamson University opened its 11-peat bid in the UAAP Softball Tournament with a highly defensive 3-0 shutout of University of Santo Tomas on Wednesday at the UP Baseball Field in Diliman, Quezon City.
The decade-long, reigning queens capitalized on their chances on offense, plucking two runs off three hits and two passed balls from UST’s and national team pitcher Royevel Palma in the third inning.
After going down three-of-three in the second inning, Adamson catcher Aliza Pichon got the second hit of the game for her side, which was followed by two singles each from shortstop Angelu Gabriel and second baseman MJ Maguad.
Those hits eventually turned into two runs from Pichon and Maguad as Palma aided their advancement on two errant deliveries.
The game turned into a mental battlefield as the Lady Falcons saw its second-year pitcher April Manangan step up on the mound with authority, limiting the Tiger Softbelles –who had 13 hits in the first game — to just four in the afternoon.
“Kung titignan mo, hindi ko ginamit si Glory (Alonzo), who played for us most of last season. Naisip ko na i-try ko naman ‘yung iba kong players. And I’m happy that April performed really well to think na ngayon ko lang talaga siya ginamit,” said Adamson head coach Ana Santiago.
Another run in the fourth inning ultimately became the insurance run, as the Lady Falcons stopped the Tiger Softbelles the rest of the way with the 22-year-old from Negros Occidental leading the way.
“Alam naman nila na yung depensa is hindi lang sa pinupukol ng pitcher talaga. Hindi naman laging strikeout dapat, kaya ‘pag natamaan dapat nakaabang ‘yung walo sa likod. Ganun naman ‘yung teamwork eh. Sana magtuluy-tuloy sa next games,” the concurrent RP Blu Girls mentor added.
Aside from the shutout on four hits, Manangan also dismissed seven batters in the no-relief effort. Pichon finished with two hits of the squad’s eight, making it on both times at-bats, while Maguad added two hits on three at-bats.
UST’s second baseman Lyca Blanco had the biggest hit of the day — a triple to the right field, but two flyouts on third baseman Charlotte Sales and centerfielder Josielyn Lim rendered the effort in vain, as the Tiger Softbelles absorbed its first defeat of the season.
In the other game, De La Salle University captured its first win of the season with a rousing 9-2 over Ateneo de Manila University.
The Lady Green Batters exploded for three runs in the first inning to start it off, before sealing the victory for good with three more runs in the sixth inning.
De La Salle third baseman Tiffany Labargan paced the offensive barrage from the Taft-based side with three of the side’s 10 hits and scored on all her four stints at the plate.
Pitcher Joerjette Jordan, on the other hand, limited Ateneo to three hits and two runs in the sixth inning to pull through with the Taft-based squad’s breakthrough win this season.
The Lines:
UST 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 4 0
AdU 0 2 0 1 0 0 x – 3 8 1
DLSU 3 0 1 0 1 3 1 – 9 10 2
Ateneo 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 – 2 3 5
