Lady Falcons trip Tams, top softball elims

MANILA, Philippines - Adamson blanked University of the East, 3-0, in a battle of last year’s finalists as the reigning champion Lady Falcons swept the first-round eliminations of UAAP Season 74 softball at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium yesterday.

In women’s football, University of Santo Tomas kept the solo lead after routing Ateneo, 4-0, while reigning champion Far Eastern University scored a 2-0 victory over University of the Philippines to likewise remain on top of men’s football at the Ateneo pitch in Katipunan.

The Lady Falcons scored two runs in the third inning courtesy of Emma Parojinog and Queeny Sabobo to set the tone for the victory, which Annalie Benjamin capped with a run of her own in the fourth frame.

The Lady Falcons also relied on Rizza Bernardino’s superb pitching that netted her four strikeouts.

“We’re still struggling with our offense but we made up for this with our solid pitching and defense,” said Adamson coach Anna Ledesma in Filipino. “I’m still not impressed with our hitting but I hope we’ll improve on this in the second round.”

In other softball results, UP edged De La Salle, 4-3, to finish second in the first round with a 4-1 card, while UST downed Ateneo, 9-4. 

UST finished with a 3-2 record followed by UE with 2-3, Ateneo with 1-5 and De La Salle with 0-5.

In women’s volleyball at the San Juan Arena, Ateneo disposed of UE, 25-21, 25-12, 25-12, to move closer to a semifinals berth with an 8-2 record.

UST forged a three-way tie for third in women’s volleyball behind De La Salle (10-0) and Ateneo after beating UP, 25-15, 25-15, 25-15 also yesterday.

In men’s volleyball, Jay Depante, Mark Gil Alfafara and Jayson Ramos combined for 55 hits as UST (7-3) defeated De La Salle (6-4), 21-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-20, and Mico Lucindo had a career-high 27 hits and Sam Paquiz added 21 points as UP (6-4) downed National University (5-5), 31-29, 24-26, 24-26, 25-17, 16-14.