After a come-from-behind loss to the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons last Thursday, the De La Salle University Lady Batters did not let up this time around, slipping past the University of the East Lady Warriors, 5-4, Saturday at the historic Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | 1 |
| DLSU (1-1) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | ||||
| UE (1-1) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
Both teams now sport 1-1 slates, while this is coach Joseph Orillana’s first win as La Salle’s softball chief mentor.
“First win, maganda kasi nung bago pa man mag-umpisa yung game, sabi na ng mga girls na atin ‘tong game na ito. Sabi ko, alam naman natin na gusto rin ng kalaban manalo, importante na mas gustuhin pa natin,” the champion baseball coach shared.
The marathon contest — which lasted for more than three hours — was knotted at 3-all heading into the seventh inning.
“Sinamantala nila yung butas at ayun nakahanap sila ng paraan nung seventh inning,” recalled Orillana.
La Salle’s pitcher Jamica Arribas popped a single to give the Lady Batters a runner with one out. After a flyout of the next batter, back-to-back errors by shortstop Lourdes Blanco led to the go-ahead run by Arribas and an insurance run by Roselle dela Rosa.
Arribas, who stepped to the mound during the fifth inning, secured her first win of the season. She only allowed two hits during her run after Bernadette Benson allowed seven during the first five innings.
Dela Rosa went 2-for-4 at-bat, popping two singles while having an RBI.
The Lady Warriors tried to perform another miracle just like they had last Thursday against the National University Lady Bulldogs.
A double by Blanco opened up the bottom end of the inning. Ground outs of the next two batters sent UE to the brink, but a Roxelle Niloban single to right field paved the way for a Blanco run. Charlene Quintos grounded out to first base to seal La Salle’s win.
It wasted the excellent outing of Imee Salvador. The UE first baseman went 2-for-4 at-bat, highlighted by a 2-run home run during the first inning.
“Underdog talaga kami,” admitted the youthful head coach. “Yung puhunan namin dito is yung puso ng mga bata. Kulang talaga tao namin pero lalaban at lalaban talaga tong mga to. Nandiyan naman yung motivation nila e.”
La Salle will have a tough third outing as they will go up against defending champions Adamson University Lady Falcons on Monday, February 5, at 11:00am. UE, on the other hand, look to bounce back on the same day when they face the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles.
