The DLSU Lady Batters overwhelmed the ADMU Blue Eagles, 22-0, in only three innings to claim their maiden win in their UAAP Season 87 Softball Tournament campaign earlier today, March 1, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Blitzkrieg start
Similar to their season opener against the UST Golden Tigresses, the Lady Batters came out swinging during the first inning. Right off the bat, the Lasallians emphatically secured four runs, including one from Team Captain Cassandra Inot and April Gonzales while their Atenean counterparts struggled to adjust, 4-0. To continue their momentum, Jeryll Duller hit a powerful ground ball that opened up the Blue Eagles’ defense for Joerjette Jordan to complete a run and increase their lead, 5-0. More Atenean mishaps opened the floodgates for the Taft-based squad as they tallied two more runs through Duller and Jasmin Vizaya, 7-0. DLSU’s Tiffany Labargan and Inot capitalized on their opponent’s sluggish start, securing two runs shortly after, 9-0.
To make matters worse for the Blue Eagles, La Salle continued their onslaught to extend their advantage. The scoreboard soon read 14-0 after Glocilyn Alipato, Ciarina Eder, Jordan, Duller, and Vizaya all rubbed salt in the wounds of their opponents, exploiting their poor defense. To close out the top of the first inning, La Salle secured three more runs through a triple play from Julianne Moral, Labargan, and Inot, who slipped through their opponent’s ranks, 17-0.
Taking the mound for DLSU, Jordan impressed the crowd as the team’s pitcher. The Green-and-White, now playing defense, stayed sharp to quickly close out the first inning and prevent any runs for Ateneo.
Closing out
To start the second inning, Ateneo bolstered their defense, shifting their focus to damage control due to the high deficit. La Salle ended the top of the second with no points on the board as a result of the Atenean’s increased intensity. However, the Lady Batters managed to return the favor, canceling out all of Ateneo’s batting efforts with multiple defensive force-outs and fly-outs. This nullified the Blue Eagles, who were still unable to secure any points on the board.
Now back on the offensive, DLSU started the third inning loading up the bases to try and kill the matchup. Ateneo, still unable to adjust, once again crumbled under the Lasallians’ batting. Vizaya, Inot, Akyna Yazaki, Alipato, and Jordan all completed their runs in quick succession to swiftly add five more points to the scoreboard, before Ateneo finally forced the end of the top in the third inning.
To start the bottom of the third inning, Alipato then stepped up as pitcher. With their morale dropping, the Blue Eagles could not respond to Alipato’s throws. Two strikeouts were followed by a flyout by Duller to conclude the matchup with the final score of 22-0 after the mercy rule was enacted.
Head Coach Joseph Orillana expressed his desire for the Lady Batters to continue their winning momentum, “Di pwede mag relax, kasi last season yun ang nangyari. Maganda ang first round tapos, tinalo ang Ateneo [and] dikit sa mga kalaban. Ayun nung second [round] natalo kami.”
(We can’t relax because last season that’s what happened. We had a good first round, beating Ateneo and stuck close to our opponents. But when the second round started we started losing.)
Now on a 1-1 standing, the DLSU Lady Batters will return to the field for their high-stakes matchup against the UP Fighting Maroons on Tuesday, March 4, at 12:30 pm at the same venue.
