ON THE heels of a close defeat at the hands of the De La Salle University Lady Archers, the Ateneo Softball Team took matters into their own hands and played with chips on their shoulders against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors, on Saturday, March 9, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. Despite the low-scoring outcome, the Lady Eagles held on tightly to scrape out a gritty 1-0 win and finally secure their first win to improve their record to 1-8 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Softball Tournament.

It was a strong defensive start for both teams in the first two innings. The Ateneo fielders exhibited focus and discipline as neither squads got any traction in the scoring column. The tough play continued for Ateneo into the third inning, as the Lady Eagles continued to shut out UE’s offense. Alisha Vergara managed to grab a near out-of-bounds ball deep in left-field, while Macatulad corralled a speedy line drive to third base to put Ateneo back at bat. The momentum finally reached a boiling point at the bottom of the third, beginning with a powerful slam from Margaux Perez to centerfield. After a Deni Mendoza flyout to leftfield, Macatulad delivered the saving point for Ateneo, driving the ball deep between center and right-field to let Perez cross home and put the Lady Eagles up by one, 1-0. It was her second straight hit of the game, which became the deciding factor of the match.

Stifling defense from both teams kept the fourth and fifth innings short and tight; Ateneo made its first move, ending the top of the fourth with a precise double play that saw Sam Baterina, Macatulad, and Therese Macasaet link up to tag out UE’s Ma. Cristina Alowa and Ma. Lourdes Blanco. The Lady Warriors answered with a series of deft catches in the outfield, capped off a by flyout to deep left-field by Perez.  

In a quick defensive show to start the fifth inning, Ateneo ran up two quick first base outs on UE’s Lorraine Collado and Jonalyn Carandang, followed by a nifty catch on the run by second baseman Baterina. UE returned with a tough defensive stand, using a pair of catches on flyouts from Mendoza and Macatulad to get back on offense. A near score from the Lady Warriors threatened Ateneo’s lead in the top of the sixth, as UE’s Vanessa Dumadapat nearly made it to home plate to even up the score. A heroic second base out by Sam Baterina, however, kept Dumadapat and the Lady Warriors at bay, while putting Ateneo at bat for the last time.

With a final chance to score, the Lady Eagles stayed locked and loaded on offense, delivering three straight hits to load up the bases. Jill San Juan landed a powerful hit to left-field for a single to start the action.

Yla Trinidad followed up with another solid left-field shot of her own to reach first, and Macasaet finished up with a bomb to centerfield to put runners on all bases.

After a switch in pitchers, the Lady Warriors moved quickly to stop the bleeding. UE’s Lovely Redaja did exactly that, striking out Mia Laurel and Alisha Vergara. A Cheska Nepomuceno flyout ended Ateneo’s sixth-inning rally, and set up UE with one last chance to tie the game.

With the match on the line, Ateneo’s defense proudly stepped up one last time to complete the victory over the Red and White. Spot-on pitching from Kevyn Lacson was the finishing blow for UE, with back-to-back strikeouts on Jeaneth Ursabia and Angelica Cruz. With a firm catch off a hit from UE’s Bernante in centerfield, Perez sealed the victory for Ateneo with the final out of the game.

The final score was 1-0, with Ateneo’s seventh-inning defensive lockdown saving the day for the Lady Eagles.

On what factors led to the day’s winning outcome, Team Captain Macatulad pointed out the team’s confidence heading into the match and their resilience during the game.

“Today, you could see that we played with our hearts. Until the last inning and last out, we kept fighting. Before we got on the diamond, we told ourselves that we were going to win today,” she said. “It’s about time that we got that win, and so we just played our game, we didn’t stop, and gave it our all.”

As Ateneo returns to the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Monday, March 11 at 11:00 AM versus powerhouse Adamson University, the Lady Eagles will look to replicate their sterling performance and make a statement against the league champions.