Mary Ann Antolihao pitches a near-perfect game
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 18 Feb 2018
University of Santo Tomas? imperfect girl Mary Ann Antolihao pitched a near-perfect game in the Tigresses? 3-0 blanking of Ateneo at the start of second round elimination of the UAAP women?s Softball Championship Saturday at the eight decades old Rizal Memorial Baseball/Softball Stadium.
The right-hand throwing Cebuana fireball, who had just recovered from injury suffered last year in a losing title cause against eventual champion Adamson University, had all the 22 Ateneo batters she faced at her mercy, fanning out all of them, 13 via strikeouts, except one.
Antolihao, undisputedly the Tigressess? finest hurler who is in her last year tour of duty at coach Sandy Barredo?s pitching rotation, had just retired the 12th hitter that crossed her path in the fifth frame when she hit Ateneo?s lead-off batter, catcher Jamie Luz San Juan, with a pitched ball
That ruined Antolihao?s bid for greatness and her first ever perfect no-hit, no-run, no error feat she could have attained in a five-year career.
Antolihao, in fairness, atoned for that misdemeanor when she forced San Juan out in a double play after grounding out Isabela Cassandra Trinidad in the next play.
?Sayang, perfect game na sana,? rued tournament chief statistician Delia Pablo after the seven-inning contest. ?But that?s how the cookie crumbles. Anyway, it was still brilliant performance by Antolihao.
?Bihira naman talaga ang nakaka-perfect game. For all we know, she didn?t even realized she was working for perfection until the game ended and she already failed,? Pablo, a many-time member of the Philippine Blu Girls while still playing, said.
Antolihao continued her mastery of the Lady Eagles? hitters denying them access to the bases the rest of the way by retiring all the next 10 that came her way.
That was the Tigresses? fifth win in seven times up as they remained the team with the highest chance of denying the idle Lady Falcons of an eighth-peat which they are seeking.
The Lady Eagles, on the other hand, have yet to score a victory after failing in their attempt, also in seven starts.
National University needed a run in the ninth and final third extension to repulse a stubborn Universiy of the Philippines side. The win, the Bulldogs? fourth, disentangled them from a three-way tie for third to fifth positions in the seven-team standing.
University of the East, likewise, extricated themselves from that logjam by working behind a seven-hit attack in the fifth to deal La Salle its sixth defeat, 9-0 The Lady Warriors and he Lay Bulldogs remained tied in third and fourth places with identical 4-3 win-loss slates.
Whether UE can hold on to that position will be known though when it battles Adamson at 11 a.m. Monday as the race for semifinal round slots continued, also at the Rizal field that was built in 1934 as home for the 10th and last edition of the now-defunct Far Eastern Games baseball tournament.
NU can, most-likely, remain in third place having only winless Ateneo as rival in the 1 p.m. tail of a tripleheader. UP tangles with La Salle in the 9 o?clock opener of the day?s schedule.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
More lucrative fights await Manny Pacquiao
By Leo Reyes, Thu, 17 Jul 2025Rumors about Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Thu, 17 Jul 2025Tapales, Laurente to help Inoue against MJ
By Lito delos Reyes, Thu, 17 Jul 2025AL BERNSTEIN, CHRISTY MARTIN AND ERIC BOTTJER TO SERVE AS ALL-STAR COMMENTARY TEAM FOR THIS FRIDAY’S ‘LOPEZ VS. VARGAS’ EVENT
Thu, 17 Jul 2025SALITA PROMOTIONS CONGRATULATES SUBRIEL MATIAS ON BECOMING THE WBC SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION
Thu, 17 Jul 2025Gaisano Grand Cup Season 20 opens August 3
By Lito delos Reyes, Thu, 17 Jul 20253 Division World Champion & Hall of Famer Shane Mosley Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13, in Las Vegas
Thu, 17 Jul 2025HALL OF FAMER MANNY PACQUIAO SET TO CHASE HISTORY YET AGAIN THIS SATURDAY NIGHT IN WORLD TITLE FIGHT AGAINST MARIO BARRIOS
Wed, 16 Jul 2025Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaimàn: New York, a Special Place for Boxing
By Mauricio Sulaimán, Wed, 16 Jul 2025Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua talking for a possible fight?
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Wed, 16 Jul 2025Philippines Rolls Past Pacific Oceania in Davis Cup Group IV Opener as Cebuana Lhuillier Ambassadors Set the Pace
Wed, 16 Jul 2025QUOTES FROM TONY HARRISON’S OPEN MEDIA WORKOUT TODAY IN DETROIT
Wed, 16 Jul 20253-Time World Champion Miyo Yoshida is tired of playing Boxing’s dreaded waiting game
Wed, 16 Jul 2025RP Blu Girls Dominate India to Strengthen Asia Cup Campaign
By Marlon Bernardino, Wed, 16 Jul 2025Pacquiao-Barrios Betting Odds in Las Vegas: Where Are Bettors Placing Their Money?
By Carlos Costa, Wed, 16 Jul 2025