Miguel Olmos and Vanessa Borbon: Protecting the Hot Corner

The sport of baseball is not just about eye-popping offense, where the home run reigns supreme. It is also, however, a sport of defense where pitchers strike out batters at key moments or when the Third Baseman makes an outstretched diving grab then fires to first, just barely getting the out. Offense helps, but in the end, it is the defense and the pitching that wins those crucial games.

(Playing at Third Base is one of the most difficult positions to play in all of baseball, quite possibly in all of professional sports. The lack of space, the need for quick reflexes and reaction time, a steady nerve and the fact that many balls are hit hard towards the so called “Hot Corner” make life difficult for these players. The likes of Mike Schmidt, George Brett and Chipper Jones have made their names famous beside that Third-Base Bag.)

DLSU Baseball and softball just got more exciting as more determined batters will look to end their season with gold medals around their necks, something that eluded the teams the previous year. As for Third Basemen Vanessa Borbon of the Softbelles and Miguel Olmos of the Green Batters, a shot at the championship may be the only thing to match the rigorous training they had during the offseason.

Olmos, the third baseman and pitcher for the Taft club, is no stranger to the diamond. He has been a varsity player since he was in the third grade. He has idolized recently retired Yankee player Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez, also of the Yanks.

The infielder’s most memorable moment in High School was when he was selected for to play in the World Series in Maine. “Masarap naman, kasi of all the player ikaw magalalaro dun sa international, buong mundo pa kalaban mo.”

During the offseason, Miguel worked on his defense and pitching, very critical components to the position he is playing.

“Hindi ko inexpect yun. Di naman ako power player pero ok naman siya. Parang maimprove yung self confidence ko.” shares the Sophomore, as he reminisces on the highlight of his rookie year, his first homerun against rival Ateneo.

Teamwork is very important in many sports. Olmos shares that the veterans on the team are very supportive of the rookies, encouraging them to do their best whether it is at a game or during practice.

He hopes that this year, the Green and White make it to the Top Four and hopefully, see those sparkling gold medals on him and his teammates’ chests.

Borbon (III, AB-SPM) aims high for this coming UAAP season 76 Softball tournament as winning it all is the only goal for the third baseman/catcher.

Borbon grasped the softball at a young age as the Cavite native says that her friends influenced her to play when she was in fifth grade. She quickly excelled in the sport saying that one of her best performance came when she was in third year high school. “…best moment ko nung nag champion kami nung 3rd year then lahat nang pwede maachieve naachieve na, every game nakakahomerun ako“, she says.

Training and conditioning started to be more intense for the team, and for Borbon, improvement will be her main contribution. “Sobra kami nagfocus sa batting namin, mas intense pa training namin“, a determined Borbon says.

With having ended their tournament early last season, a more determined player can be expected from Borbon. “Magpapakita kami ng sobra na talaga, lahat na ibibigay namin. Pipilitin na namin kunin yung gold para sa Lasalle kasi sobrang nagpapagod kami para sa school,” she says.

Working hard in order to achieve a goal is something that everyone, not only athletes, should do. “Siguro kailangan mong magstrive kung ano gusto mo makuha, kailangan paghirapan katulad nalang ng World Series. Naghirap ako dun, ginawa ko lahat ng kailangan kong gawin para mapili dun. Pinakita ko sa mga coaches na deserve ko na makapunta dun,” shares Olmos on his experiences with Baseball.

Striving to a goal is something that Olmos and the Batters, as well as Borbon and the Softbelles, need to do if they want to have those coveted medals placed over their heads.