UAAP softball: UP rookie Zuluaga making an impact in Season 71

MANILA, Philippines – University of the Philippines coach Kiko Diaz was right when she said former Little Leaguer Alexis Zuluaga would make an impact right away in this season’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) softball tournament. The 18-year old freshman emerged as the most consistent player for the Lady Maroons this season as she becane among the league leaders after the first round elimination. The third base player, who is also a noted pitcher while playing for ILLAM in the Little League, placed second in slugging with a 1.071 average and is tied with three other players for fourth to sixth in terms of batting, .428. She is also second in RBIs (runs batted in) with six, tied four other players for most home runs with two, and shared third place with three others in stolen bases with three after the first five games. The defending champions, however, were struggling despite the solid efforts of Zuluaga as they ended the first round with a 3-2 record. Last year’s ace pitcher Dione Macasu’s departure severely affected the Lady Maroons’ performance this season. Adamson's Thinsey De Jose and Felixwanda Custodio topped the slugging and batting departments with 1.285 and .666, while Zuluaga’s teammate, Amelia Sayuno, had five stolen bases to lead the department and University of Santo Tomas rookie Ana Paghubasan had the most RBIs with eight. Adamson’s Anavic Jugos, along with UST teammates Paghubasan and Melanie Laserna, joined Zuluaga in the home runs section with two each. UAAP softball resumes on Wednesday with UP opening the second round against UST at 9:00 a.m. while Ateneo takes on La Salle at 11:00 a.m. Adamson battles University of the East in the 1:00 p.m. closing game. The Lady Falcons currently enjoy the top vie with a 6-0 slate. They need to win four more games to reclaim the title they lost last year to UP with a 10-0 sweep. – GMANews.TV