THE UST Softbelles suffered a 9-0 beating at the hands of three-time defending champion Adamson University in the UAAP softball tournament at the Rosario Sports Arena in Pasig last Dec. 7.
Composed mainly of national team players, Adamson dominated early in the first inning, capitalizing on the Softbelles’ erratic pitching and blasting them with six straight points.
Elvie Entrina scored the Lady Falcons’ first two points as she registered two runs batted in (RBI) via a centerfield hit, before Luzviminda Embudo capped the inning with two hits as UST’s defense was caught napping.
The Softbelles almost registered two RBIs on top of the third frame, but Angelique Benjamin’s leftfield hit was easily contained by an Adamson defender, leaving UST scoreless after three innings.
In the fourth inning, Adamson’s pitcher Annalie Benjamen proved too much for the Softbelles to handle as she forced three UST strikeouts.
The scoreless four innings led Softbelles coach Sandy Barredo to call it a day, cutting the game short from the usual eight innings.
"Most of their players are part of the national team and our players are young. They're just too good for us," Barredo said.
In their opening game at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last Dec. 4, the España-based batters escaped a much-improved Ateneo de Manila University squad, 6-5.
The game was tied through four innings until Ateneo outscored UST, 2-1, in the fifth frame.
"You can still see their opening-game jitters," Barredo said. "We still have a lot to work on."
