UAAP: Green Batters lose in extra innings, drop finals opener against Ateneo

In what was another heart-stopping match between college’s most bitter rivals, the DLSU Green Batters drop the first game of a best of three series against the Ateneo Blue batters, 10 – 8, in extra innings. With the win, Ateneo grabs the 1-0 lead in the series, putting DLSU in a win-or-go-home situation heading into the crucial second game.

“Siguro kinapos lang kami ng kaunti,” admits Green Batters head coach Joseph Orillana.  “Nakita naman ng lahat na until the end, tumabla kami. Kaunting-kaunti nalang saamin na dapat yung win.”

The Blue Batters were first on the board with a run at the top of the second inning. However, the Green Batters responded with three of their own in the latter part of the inning. This lead was short lived as Ateneo exploded in the fourth with six men reaching home, along with some help from a few DLSU errors. A lone run in the sixth inning by Ateneo turned it into an 8-3 ballgame heading into the final three innings.

Down to their final nine outs, the Green Batters’ offense suddenly came to life. They batted in two runs in the seventh inning to cut the lead to three. They then proceeded to tack on another run in the eighth before Bastie Uichico drove in two runs in the same inning to tie it.

La Salle did have a chance to win it in walk-off fashion as Ateneo had failed to score in the ninth inning. The Green Batters were able to get a man on base at the bottom of the ninth, but were unable to bring him home and the game went into extra innings.

Only one extra inning was played as the Blue Batters scored twice to put the game out of reach, making them a win away from being crowned champions.

“In the brink of the game nung nagkaroon uli ng tao sa base. Siguro hindi lang talaga nagdugtong-dugtong yung hits namin,” says the Green Batters coach on the final inning , adding that the Ateneo defense held them back as well.

The Green Batters will face their rivals once again for Game 2 of this best-of-three-series for the championship on February 18, at 12 pm in the Rizal Memorial Baseball Diamond.

“Sabi ko nga, hindi magiging madali ang championship na ito,” Coach Orillana adds.  “Kaya kung mananalo kami, hard work talaga dapat talaga ang [gagawin ng] mga players.”