MANILA, Philippines -- A recharged Adamson proved too much against Ateneo, clobbering the Lady Eagles in five innings, 8-0, Saturday to storm to their ninth straight victory in the UAAP Season 76 softball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Refreshed by the one-week break in their schedule, the Lady Falcons exploded with six runs in the opening frame to set the tone for the abbreviated victory that stretched their rampage to 42 games dating to 2010.
"Naging maganda yung break, nagkaroon kami ng time mag-recharge at makita ang mga pagkukulang pa namin at mag-adjust (The break served us well; it allowed us to recharge and go over our shortcomings and make necessary adjustments)," said AdU coach Ana Santiago.
The San Marcelino-based clouters moved three wins away from sweeping the two-round elims and snaring an outright finals berth plus thrice-to-beat incentive.
The Lady Falcons wasted little time lighting up the scoreboard on their first trip at bat, sending six batters home off two hits and a pair of wild pitches issued by Ateneo starter Mei Uy.
Luzviminda Embudo started things off with a two-run double. Rizza Bernardino and Embudo herself reached the plate off back-to-back wild pitches to double the lead, afterwhich Julie Marie Muyco drove in two more for a 6-0 tear.
Bernardino made it a seven-run cushion with her RBI single in the second while Annalie
Benjamen accounted for the eighth run off a throwing error in the fifth.
Second-running Santo Tomas got back on the winning track with a 5-4 squeaker over La Salle to improve to 7-2.
Jocelyn Ungsod slammed a single to right scoring Kristine Joy Lacupa in the bottom fifth to lead the Tigresses to a bounceback from their 3-5 loss to unheralded Ateneo last Wednesday.
No. 3 National U also maintained its standing via a 3-2 escape act over University of the Philippines.
Lovely Dian Aragon delivered the marginal run for the Lady Bulldogs, an RBI basehit in the seventh that secured their sixth win in nine outings.
The Lady Maroons slipped to 3-7 while the Lady Eagles and the Lady Archers plummeted to identical 2-8 cards.