TWO YEARS since their heartbreaking playoff loss, the UST Tiger Softbelles finally got the better of the UP Fighting Maroons with a dominant 5-1 victory in the UAAP Season 88 softball tournament on Tuesday, March 10, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
The win marked UST’s first triumph over UP since Season 86.
UST closed out the first round of eliminations atop the standings with a 3-1 slate, with UP trailing closely with the same record.
Despite notching the number one seed, UST head coach Sandy Barredo emphasized that the team must not be complacent heading into the second round.
“The ball is round… It’s hard to predict that we can win all after beating UP; it doesn’t work like that,” Barredo said postgame.
“All teams are still preparing, studying how to beat us. It doesn’t mean that once you win, you can do it all,” the coach added.
After two scoreless innings from both sides, senior left-fielder Erika Fernandez finally opened up the scoring to put UST ahead, 1-0.
The España squad had another chance in the fourth frame with all bases loaded, but failed to score. The defense, however, more than made up for it, forcing three flyouts against UP to maintain the edge.
The Softbelles continued their offensive prowess into the fifth, as third baseman Aiza Ganciar and rookie Annarose Macatbag each recorded an RBI from powerful strikes, courtesy of Gen Degollacion and Jaimie Bueza, widening the gap to 3-0.
The last two innings were no different, as shortstop Helga Campos recorded another run in the sixth and another Macatbag score in the seventh, to take a 5-0 cushion.
Hopes of a shutout were shattered, though, when UP’s Jaja Pascual finally opened up the scoring for the Maroons from Nickole dela Cruz’s powerful strike to right field.
The Maroons had the chance to tie with all bases loaded, but pitcher Celine Chang shut them down to end UST’s drought against UP.
UST’s offense stood out, with six hits compared to UP’s three. Meanwhile, junior Chang recorded three strikeouts to anchor the defense. F
