STILL ON the hunt for their first win this year, the Ateneo Lady Eagles dropped their eighth match of the season, falling prey to the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs at 1-7 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Softball tournament on Monday, February 19, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.

Following the trend of the Lady Eagles’ previous games, the match proved to be a sequence of close calls and missed opportunities, with the team gaining an early lead and generating several chances but failing to convert. Both squads’ pitchers kept the ball game locked from the mound early on, as Ateneo’s starter Kevyn Lacson and NU’s Mean Ramos prevented hits from either side to control the pace of the match.

Ateneo fired the first shots of war at the bottom of the third courtesy of timely heroics from Jill San Juan. With runners on second and first, the hard-hitting catcher slammed a drive past third-base territory to send Yla Trinidad home for the score. The run, however, would be the only point Ateneo would get on the scoreboard. Unwilling to concede any more runs, the NU side subbed in their ace Mia Macapagal, which changed the tide and halted most of the Lady Eagles’ offense for the rest of the game.

With their usual ace on the mound, NU responded at the top of the fourth and exploited lapses on the Ateneo defense, sparking four-run rally that silenced the diamond. Third-baseman Ghene Nietes put in Ateneo’s first runs, launching a solid grounder past the infield to send home Nicolyn Ordoyo and Shaira Damasing to make it a 1-2 game. A single by Mia Macapagal then scored Nietes, and a succeeding grounder from leftfielder Leila Tarroza gave the green light to the pitcher, bringing the score to 1-4.

The rally from the Lady Bulldogs prompted coach Joy Lasquite to switch Lacson for substitute Kaira Ventosa at the top of the fifth. NU, however, continued to make the most out of their opponents’ defensive droughts, scoring one more run at the top of the fifth and two runs at the top of the seventh.

The Lady Eagles faced their last chance to save the game at the bottom of the seventh, needing at least six runs to force extra innings. Hits from relief pitcher Nicki Borromeo and substitute Nikola Lacson showed late signs of hope, placing runners on second and third, but two straight strikeouts from Macapagal brought the game to a quiet conclusion and ended the match at 1-7.

The Lady Eagles stand at a current 0-8 win-loss record. They will face the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers on Thursday, February 22.