By Jean Malanum
MANILA – De La Salle University eliminated Ateneo de Manila University, 11-0, on Tuesday in the UAAP Season 88 softball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila.
The Green Batters scored four runs in the first two innings and made seven more in the third to put the game away for good.
La Salle also swept Ateneo this season after pulling off an 18-0 win in the first round last Feb. 28.
“I said, let’s regroup again. When we lost to UP, it hurt. We really needed to get straight to the second round so we could get back to our target of being in the top two because that was the expectation of our coaches, that’s why,” said head coach Jasper Cabrera.
Julian Del Moral drove in all three of her RBIs in the third inning, scoring Trisha Hicayen, Shein Espinosa, and Ciarina Eder to give La Salle an 8-0 lead.
Jasmin Visaya added a double to send Del Moral home, while Cassandra Inot virtually sealed the win with the team’s 11th run on an April Gonzales sacrifice hit.
Joergette Jordan was solid on the mound, holding the Blue Eagles scoreless while allowing just two hits. She struck out five batters to complete the rout.
“The score showed that it was just breaks of the game. After we trained, we had to go back; we had to, one at a time. Ateneo first, we were focused; our hitting here at Ateneo needs to click so you can have some confidence against UST,” explained Cabrera, who also serves as RP Blu Boys head coach.
La Salle will face UST on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the same Malate venue.
The Blue Eagles could not follow up the three runs they scored against the Green Batters, with Zyrah de Guzman the only one with hits, drilling two off Jordan.
Ateneo, winless after six games, battles Adamson University on Saturday at 9 a.m. and University of the Philippines on Tuesday at 11 a.m. (PNA)
