THE ATENEO Lady Eagles were defeated by the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Tigresses, 3-0, at the top of the seventh inning at their first game of the second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Softball tournament on Saturday, February 17, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.

Throughout the match, the Lady Eagles were limited offensively and held scoreless by the Lady Tigers, failing to put up a single run on the board for the entirety of the match. Despite keeping the scoreline low amidst a few defensive mishaps, the team found difficulty in returning hits against UST pitcher Mary Ann Antolihao, UAAP Season 79’s Best Pitcher.

Despite a strong effort on the defensive side from the Lady Eagles early on, the Blue and White gave up their first run in the bottom of the third inning, eventually conceding their last two runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth.

At the top of the first, the Lady Eagles met a roadblock with Antolihao on the mound, as the UST ace closed the top half of the inning with three consecutive strikeouts.

In the second half of the inning, Kat Santos stood her ground at the second baseman position, catching two fly-balls to help see the Lady Eagles through a scoring threat. Despite facing a loaded bases situation, starting pitcher Kevyn Lacson maintained her poise and composure, concluding the inning with a strikeout on Lealyn Guevarra to end UST’s threat.

Entering the top of the second, Antolihao dictated the pace of the game from the mound, preventing the Lady Eagles from landing a single hit throughout the inning. At the bottom of the second, defense saved the day for the Lady Eagles yet again after a double play between Yla Trinidad and Kat Santos tallied three away to retire the UST side.

The Lady Tigresses, however, were not to be undone and eventually put up their first run of the match, breaking the deadlock at the bottom of the third off a flyball to left field. Antolihao then showed her offensive capabilities one inning later , sending another run in with a double to make it a 0-2 game, with a third run then coming in shortly after.

The succeeding innings were relatively quiet, with Antolihao pitching a near perfect game and taking down 13 of Ateneo’s batters. Needing four runs to stay alive until the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Eagles struggled to fight off the heat from the mound and ultimately fell in a quiet shutout at 0-3.

Following the result, Ateneo Coach Joy Lasquite admitted that defense and hitting continue to be the two major lapses hindering the team from achieving their desired results.

“We really need to work on defense at “yung mga palo natin— kailangang lumabas ang mga palo nila para manalo ang team (We really need to work on defense and our hitting— our hitting has to show so the team can win.)

With this result, the Lady Eagles continue their quest for an elusive first win of the season, moving to a 0-7 win-loss record.

The Blue and White have a chance to do so against the National University Lady Bulldogs on Monday, February 19, 1:00 PM, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.