AdU near fifth softball title in row, repels UP

MANILA, Philippines - Annalie Benjamen pitched a two-hitter and struck out 12 batters as rampaging holder Adamson shut out University of the Philippines, 6-0, to inch closer to its fifth straight crown in the UAAP Season 77 softball tourney yesterday at Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Benjamen, last year’s MVP and Best Slugger, provided a solid presence on the mound, allowing only three UP runners on throughout her seven-inning stint, as the Lady Falcons offset a rather cold batting day and posted their 13th straight win this season and 61st consecutive overall.

The Lady Falcons, who haven’t lost since a 3-8 defeat to Santo Tomas way back Feb. 13, 2010, can put the finishing touches to another perfect season with one more W on Thursday.

“Na-hold yung hitting namin sa first two innings pero medyo naka-adjust naman unti-unti (We couldn’t get our hitting going in the first two innings but we’ve managed to make adjustments),” said AdU coach Ana Santiago, whose usually reliable wards could only make one hit in the first two frames but managed eight over the next four trips.

Santiago was all praises for Benjamen, a veteran of the Big League Softball World Series.

“Good pitching siya ngayon. Kung hindi niya na-hold ang batters ng UP tapos kami medyo lapse ang hitting, medyo delikado kami (She pitched well for us. If he didn’t hold UP’s batters and our hitting remained sour, we could be in danger),” she said.

The Lady Falcons broke the scoring drought in the third when Queeny Sabobo drove Krisna Paguican home off a double. Sabobo later reached the plate to double AdU’s lead.

Paguican scored Gelyn Lamata and Clariz Palma with a double in the fourth to make it 4-0 then Angelie Ursabia blasted a run-scoring double and later got home herself off a wild pitch an inning later as Adamson pulled away for good.

The Lady Falcons were extended to a seventh inning for the first time this season after finishing off their previous elims assignments in four or five.

“Syempre championship na ito, ibang level na so nag-lelevel up ang bawat teams. Ang maganda lang, kahit ano’ng nangyari sa simula, iyung focus ng players andyan, hindi nawala (We’re in the championship already so we expect every team to step up. It’s good that despite our early struggles, the players maintained their focus),” said Santiago.