THE ATENEO Lady Eagles surrendered an early two-run lead, falling apart in the latter innings for a 2-7 finish against to the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Softball tournament held on Monday, February 5, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The afternoon game featured a battle between pitchers Kevyn Lacson of Ateneo and Lovely Redaja of UE. The former flew out of the gates, preventing UE from registering a hit in the first two innings. The latter struggled early on, giving Ateneo a taste of the lead for the first time this season in the second inning.
This sequence began with Jill San Juan knocking in a single, followed by a double to right center by Sam Baterina. Rookie Mia Laurel then recorded the biggest hit of her young career with a drive to shallow left field that fell safely for a 2-RBI double. However, the Ateneo lead would not survive for more than half an inning.
At the top of the third, UE began to find their rhythm against Lacson. Quintos and Blanco occupied the corners after making it on base due to a pair of fumbles by the defense. Salvador would then blast a ball to right center, replicating Laurel with a 2-RBI double.
Two innings later, Salvador would replicate her previous at-bat with two outs and a pair of runners in scoring position at second and third. The slugger slammed the ball into right-field and fell past the outfielder to give the Lady Warriors a two-run advantage.
On the other end, Redaja began to take control on the mound. The Lady Eagles struggled to connect for hits after their hot start, and failed to get another runner in scoring position for the rest of the game. Redaja’s dominance was highlighted by her impressive fourth inning, where she struck out all three Lady Eagle batters in order.
UE put the final nail in the coffin in the seventh inning, padding on three more runs to boost their lead. Quintos and Redaja opened with a pair of singles to load first and second. Francisco then drove a ball into right field for a single with just one out, forcing Coach Joy Lasquite to bring in Nicki Borromeo to replace Kevyn Lacson on the mound. Niloban then sent a shot into centerfield to add on two more runs for UE, though the side would be retired after her attempt to take second base was thwarted.
San Juan’s single to open the seventh showed a sign of life from the Lady Eagles, but a bunch of pinch hitters could not spark a final rally from the Blue and White side. In the end, the Lady Eagles dropped their third game in the same number of outings.
The Lady Eagles face the biggest challenge of the season in their next game, as they play against the seven-time defending champion Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons on Thursday, February 8, 1:00 PM at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.
Borromeo addressed the team with optimism and encouragement amidst the disappointing atmosphere that clouded the team after the loss. “Kayang kaya natin ito (We can do it). I know we can do it. It’s not over,” she said.
Team Captain Bea Parma echoed her teammate’s words, while also looked for more consistency from the team on both sides. “Our D is pretty good, but we need to follow it up with offense also. We can’t just be D one day, and O another day.”
