UST two wins away in claiming 1st UAAP softball crown

University of Santo Tomas (UST) leaned on timely hits in the second inning and the game-long brilliance of pitcher Aiza dela Torre to hack out a hard-earned come from behind 3-2 victory over Ateneo in Saturday's UAAP softball match at the UST field. Despite the Tigresses' getting win No. 8, coach Sandy Barredo was not happy with the way his wards played. "They're level of play was low for this game because they were overconfident thinking this will be an easy game for them. Luckily for us, we made the hits in the second inning and Aiza was in her form," said Barredo. Dela Torre actually started out cold as she allowed two hits that produced two early runs for Ateneo. But Dela Torre recovered her form in time as she limited her rivals to just four hits the rest of the way. The Katipunan-based squad, which dropped to 3-5 record, still had a chance to turn things around but Dela Torre was there to foil their upset bid. "We have to have that killer instinct because other teams are out to end our winning streak," said Barredo, who now needs to win over UP on Wednesday and against defending champion Adamson on Saturday to complete the sweep and give UST its first ever UAAP softball title. The Lady Falcons kept its hold on second place with a 7-1 record with a 17-0 win over La Salle. The defending champions turned the contest in a hit parade in the second inning as Harlyn Tubongbanua, Elma Parohinog, Mary Chris Gidalanon, Marissa dela Cruz, Anavic Jugos and Erica Escanuela all homered against three pitchers to spark a 12-hit, 14-run performance. University of the East ended its two game skids with a 10-3 decision against UP in the other game. UP dropped to 4-4 record while La Salle remained winless after eight outings. - GMANews.TV