UAAP: Green Batters hold off gutsy Ateneo to finish first

In the preview of the finals matchup for the UAAP baseball crown, the DLSU Green Batters triumphed against the Ateneo Blue Batters, 11-10, at the Rizal Memorial baseball stadium last February 9. With the win, the Green Batters improve to 9-1, with their only loss coming at the hands of NU. Ateneo on the other hand, failed to build on their huge rally and thus fall to a record of 7-3.

The Batters were cruising along in the early going, scoring in four consecutive innings, with six points in the second, two in the third and one apiece in the fourth and fifth.It wasn’t enough as during this time, Ateneo was chipping away at the lead, scoring two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth, making it 10-5 after the first six innings of the ballgame.

Ateneo then continued its surge in the next two innings, scoring five runs to tie the game at 10. With the game tied going into the bottom of the eighth, DLSU was able to score a run to make it 11-10. This was all they needed as their defense silenced the Blue Batters in the ninth inning, sealing the game for the Green and White.

Both teams will once again face each other on Friday, this time in a best-of-three series with the championship at stake. The battle for the championship will also be the first DLSU has been in since 2003.