Danica Aquino drove in a clutch triple that sent University of the Philippines to a walk-off victory of 3-2 against University of Santo Tomas, clinching a second straight UAAP Softball Finals appearance on Saturday at the UP Baseball Field.
The former national team upstart got her biggest hit of the game with the encounter threatening to go into extra innings at two runs apiece.
With a 1-1 pitch count against her erstwhile Blu Girls teammate Kikay Palma, Aquino, UP’s left fielder, made timely contact with the ball and sent it to deep left-center, evading her opposite number, Erika Fernandez.
Rookie Angel Pascual then wasted no time with a huge hit to the middle to score her senior.
“Ito na ‘yung break na hinihintay namin. Sabi ko sa kanila, this is what we’re working for the whole year; this is the fruit of our hard labor,” said head coach Ron Pagkaliwagan.
The best-of-three Finals rematch between UP and Adamson University starts on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the same Diliman field.
The Fighting Maroons took control of the early innings with captain Nickole Dela Cruz hitting a double to send Pascual home to start the scoring in the first inning.
UST had a quick reply with Lyca Blanco scoring a solo homer to level the game in the immediate following half-inning.
The home side broke the ice in the third frame, almost breaking the game open with several bases-loaded situations, but only managed to score a solitary run, maintaining a marginal 2-1 cushion that held up until the seventh inning.
The defensive stance from both sides, especially that of the Tiger Softbelles in the bottom of the sixth, ignited a sense of urgency from the España-based side.
Shyla Celis got her second hit of the battle—a single to the middle of the field—putting a runner on base as Tin Bautista sent her catcher home for the tying run.
That turned out to be the trigger for UP’s counter-heroics, as after KC Valino retired the side in the last inning with her third strikeout of the day, it led to a huge confidence booster for Aquino and Pascual.
Palma, Celis, Bautista, and Charlotte Sales made their final rounds of the bases for the back-to-back bronze medalists, UST.
Now back in the Finals, the Fighting Maroons will look to be ready for another battle with the 10-time champions, the Lady Falcons.
“Let’s see kung anong mangyayari sa Finals, pero ang sure is lalaban kami,” Pagkaliwagan, who was surprisingly lost for words, curtly ended.
The Lines:
TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
UST 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 6 3
UP 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 8 0
