Falcons soar to history: 62 win-streak, 5-peat

MANILA, Philippines - Simply unstoppable.

The Adamson Lady Falcons proved they’re still the undisputed queens of UAAP softball yesterday as they secured a historic five-peat via an immaculate title run capped by a 10-0 rout of University of the Philippines yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

The Lady Falcons got their batting going, tagging UP’s pitching staff with 15 hits, while burly hurler Annalie Benjamen put up another solid outing on the mound as the San Marcelino-based softbelles swept their way to their fifth consecutive diadem and extended their incredible winning run to 62 games dating back to Season 72.

“This is somehow unexpected at the start of the season because we lost key players who were part of the four-peat and we didn’t know how the younger players would handle it. But after playing their first game, they showed they could do it, they stepped up and delivered. This is history for Adamson, we haven’t won a five-peat before and then there’s the 62-game winning streak,” AdU coach Ana Santiago, who steered the school to their 14th title overall and hiked her personal collection to nine as head coach, said in Filipino.

Queeny Sabobo led AdU on the offensive end, going two-for-four in a sizzling stint at bat highlighted by a two-run home run in the seventh and two runs in the early goings, as Gelyn Lamata (2-for-4) had two RBIs and one run.

Benjamen shut out the Lady Maroons for the second straight game, allowing only three hits and striking out three in another no-relief seven-inning job. The 22-year-old Benjamen, who had 12 strikeouts in AdU’s 6-0 disposal of UP in the finals opener two days before, was named MVP for the second consecutive season and also scooped up the Best Hitter, Most RBIs, and Best Pitcher plums.

“It’s satisfying because our sacrifices paid off,” Incheon Asian Games veteran Benjamen said in Filipino as she proudly wore on a blue shirt with the words: “Undisputed Champion for 5 years.”  

Adamson got off to a blazing start, with Benjamen, Angelie Ursabia, and Lamata taking turns blasting run-scoring hits for a 3-0 headstart and in the next inning, Lorna Adorable drove Sabobo home to pad the lead. Two error-aided runs made it 6-0 for AdU in the third.

After a lull in scoring, the Lady Falcons exploded with four runs off four hits in the seventh, with Lamata and Ritlayca Basa scoring Ursabia and pinchrunner Riezel Calumbres, respectively, and Sabobo homering over the centerfield fence to drive in runner Krisna Paguican as well and put the punctuation mark on Adamson’s dominant season.

It was only the second game this year that ended in regulation for Adamson.

“I told them before the game, our opponent is a fighter. If we want to win, finish it today, we have to exceed whatever UP will put up. I told them, if you want to be a winner, play like a winner,” said Santiago as she carried the team’s pet shih tzu, which she considered their “lucky charm” for the past five seasons.

Benjamen’s teammates shared the limelight in the individual awards. Adorable took home Most Stolen Bases plum, Lamata shared the Most RBIs award with Benjamen while Sabobo won the Most Home Run accolade in a tie with Cristy Joy Roa of University of Santo Tomas and Florable Fabiana was named Rookie of the Year. Roa was adjudged Best Slugger.