A ghost from the past: The early struggles of the DLSU Batters

Baseball was a relatively new sport for the Lasallian community back when the school first joined the UAAP in 1986. Although, despite the fact that many students were already familiar with the sport, the gameplay that is experienced in a collegiate league was still considered as an uncharted territory for both the team and the fans.

DLSU’s previous league, the NCAA, didn’t have “America’s National Pastime” as one of their yearly activities. While on the other hand, the sport has been a regular fixture in every UAAP season since its inception 77 years ago. Despite the short adjustment period, La Salle’s resident sluggers have moderate success in the pitch, winning a total of three championships (1995, 1999, and 2002) in the UAAP.

All of DLSU’s varsity teams always aim for the top when they compete for the school. While it may be a noble goal and one that is truly achievable, it is unavoidable that a team has a bad season at some point during their time. For this article, The LaSallian examines the team that placed last among six teams in that year’s tourney, the 2005 Green Batters squad.

The Green Batters entered the tournament in 2005 as a team under a three year championship drought, but evidently hungry to end the dry spell as soon as possible. This meant that other squads would not take them lightly even if the Green-and-White hasn’t performed as well as in previous years.

Back then, the team was led by captain John de los Santos. Being a DLSU Star Scholar taking up an engineering degree in addition to his varsity career made de los Santos a rarirty of an athlete. Another noteworthy player for them was Ervic Vijandre, who is more known as a model and actor at present rather as an athlete. He was also a member of the DLSU Green Archers Team B during his playing years, making him a dual-sport athlete. Joining them in the team was co-captain Arvin Cirunay, Jason Hipol, Sonny Calma, Lawrence Virina, Marco Alquiros, Christopher Tingzon, and Nico David.

With no star caliber players to booth, the Green Batters wanted to show that they can still compete with the best even with their situation. They put up a valiant effort every match, giving their rivals a big scare every time they played against them. The sluggers in green would even take the lead in the game during its initial stretches. Unfortunately, this was not enough to get them over the hump. Despite a rousing start to every game, the Batters would always falter in the end, usually by close margins. With the losses piling up one after another, the spirit of the team was broken. They finished the season not only in last place but also winless.

Captain de los Santos admitted that lack of chemistry and preparation led to their dismal season. Since many of the team’s players were rookies, an adjustment period was to be expected. While on the field, the Green Batters were easily outclassed by the opposing team’s veteran pitchers and basemen. This inexperience coupled with the lack of familiarity among the players put them in their undoing. Despite his comments, his teammates still held their captain high regard.

The drought from this team continued on for years. Barring the suspended season in 2006, La Salle would finish last place five more times in the next eight years. Their poor performance has dampened DLSU’s quest for the General Championship, alarming the school officials that the baseball program needed an immediate upgrade. It wasn’t until Season 76 that the Green Batters would become legitimate threats for the title contention.

Last year’s performance was a complete turnaround for DLSU’s baseball team. The squad finished at the top of the standings and cruised past competition in the eliminations with a 9-1 record. In the finals, they were tasked against their Ateneo counterparts, champions of the last two editions of the tournaments. Ultimately, the Batters would lose in two straight games to their rivals and finish as the runner-ups, which is the highest standing they reached since the early 2000s.

With the past behind them, the DLSU Green Batters will swing at full force as they aim to end the baseball curse that has haunted them for the past 12 years. Now equipped with a more talented roster and better preparations, there is no better time than now for them to finally grab that elusive title in one of the country’s most prestigious baseball competitions.