LIPA CITY – Classy Adamson-Lipa continued demolishing every squad that came its way by scoring another pair of abbreviated victories in the women’s division of the National Open Softball Championships yesterday here.
The Lipeñas, in fact, needed only four innings each in disposing of Bulacan State University and Prime Pick-Baguio in two different venues to assume temporarily solo leadership of Group B with an immaculate 3-0 win-loss record in the two-group distaff side of the tournament sponsored by the City Government of Lipa under Mayor Oscar Gozos and supported by Cebuana Lhuiller.
The girls of coach Ana Santiago first flexed their muscles in making short work of the Bulakeñas, 10-3, in a regulation four over at the Barangay Marauoy field, then traveled several kilometers to Barangay San Sebastian where they made mincemeat of the Baguio lasses, 8-3, also in four innings.
Jennilyn Ytario and Erica Escanuela both manned the mound in the Lipeñas’ two-game bill and both starved their rivals’ batters with Ytario starting against the Bulacan Staters, whom she limited to mere two hits, in the process handing the enemies their second defeat in three outings.
Escanuela took over from where Ytario left against the Baguio lady clouters who could only manage a hit. The loss was Prime Pick-Baguio’s first in a pair.
The Lipeñas, who started their campaign with a three-inning, 16-1 stoppage of visiting team West Papua of Indonesia last Friday, bombarded BSU with eight hits highlighted by a pair of home runs by third base girl Arlene Tubongbanua, including a three-run blast in the fourth frame.
Santiago’s girls were more unforgiving at the plate against their Baguio counterparts, connecting 16 times that produced six runs in the first, one each in the second and third before lowering the boom in the fourth with 10 markers.
The tournament, dubbed as the “Summer Grand Slam”, loomed as a private affair for the host teams as the Lipenas’ male counterparts, matched the women’s team’s third triumph in as many starts – 10-6 over Bulacan Province and 8-2 over Rizal Technological University of Mandaluyong.
Another host city campaigner, the Lipa-TCGI, likewise, protected its un beaten record in Group B of the men’s with a 7-0 spanking of Cavite at the Marauoy ground.
Defending men’s champion Cebu finally scored a victory at the expense of Laguna-Paciano, 8-1, but not until after suffering a, 0-4 shutting out loss from Air Force.
Earlier in the day, RTU dealt BSU a second defeat in the day with 12-2 win, while Rizal province stayed closely behind Adamson-Lipa in the Group B women’s division standing with a 12-0 shutting out of Indonesia, its second straight.
Meanwhile, ASA-Phil president Jean Henri Lhuiller, who is currently in Italy on business committment, called on tournament director Jun Veloso extending his gratitude to Mayor Gozos for the successful opening of the tournament and the hitch-less conduct of the National Open.
“Please extend my deepest gratitude to Mayor Gozos and the entire citizenry of Lipa City for their warm reception of the National Open and the team members, officials and
tournament personnel,” Veloso quoted Lhuiller as saying over the phone.