THE UST Tiger Softbelles buried the Ateneo Blue Eagles in six innings, 14-6, to end their UAAP Season 87 softball tournament first-round campaign at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium on Tuesday, March 11.
The Tiger Softbelles ended the first round in third place with a 2-2 record, while the bottom-ranked Ateneo remained winless in four games.
Despite the team’s dominant performance in the game, which was initially scheduled for last Saturday but was called off midway due to heavy rains, UST assistant coach Esmeralda Tayag said her players have work to do ahead of the second round.
“All of them need to reflect sa performances nila ng first round. Dami pang unearned runs and simple errors na they need to minimize or avoid,” Tayag told the Varsitarian. “They need to set their mind that every game in the next round is like a championship game.”
UST continued its hot bat from Saturday after driving in four runs in the top of the first inning, punctuated by Erika Fernandez’s two-RBI triple that drove in Royeve Palma and Anne Patricio, 4-0.
Ateneo quickly retaliated in the bottom of the first to score their first runs of the tournament as Rocio Macasaet and Asteria Franco reached home, capitalizing on multiple errors from the Softbelles, 4-2.
Ryza Zafra, Lyca Blanco, Aiza Ganciar scored in the top of the second inning to extend UST’s lead, 7-4, but the Softbelles didn’t stop there as Genesis Degollacion and Palma drove Jojielyn Lim, Blanco, and Ganciar home for a 10-2 edge.
Macasaet put one back for the Blue Eagles as her double eventually turned into a run in the bottom of the same inning, 10-3.
Multiple errors from the Softbelles once again allowed Ateneo to rally in the bottom of the fourth as Franco, Jessica Daquigan, and Fiona Baguinet cut UST’s lead to four, 10-6.
Ganciar’s single and eventual run in the top of the fifth made way for UST to bury Ateneo for good in the sixth inning with Blanco, Palma, and Patricio triggering the mercy rule for a dominant end to UST’s first round, 14-6.
Tayag expects the Tiger Softbelles to show more fight in the second round.
“I’m expecting na ma-boost ‘yong fighting spirit nila and maging motivation ‘yong pagkatalo nila sa dalawang games because I know that they could’ve won those two games,” she said.
The UAAP has yet to announce the schedule of the second round.
