UAAP: Green Batters take Game 1 over defending champion Ateneo

The DLSU Green Batters defeated the ADMU Blue Eagles, 8-3, yesterday, March 11, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three finals match-up. Rookie pitcher Diego Lozano came out of the dugout with a stirring performance, finishing with seven strikeouts that prevented Ateneo from scoring. Meanwhile, La Salle scored five runs in the fourth inning, capped off by a three-run triple by Franco Hashimoto.

Both Boo Barandiaran and Paulo Macasaet, the starters of DLSU and ADMU, respectively, held each team scoreless for the first three innings. In the third inning though, Ateneo threatened to score some runs. With two outs, Radito Banzon, Marco Mallari, and Kai Furasawa were all able to reach base to load the bases for catcher Dio Remollo. While he was able to hit a solid line-drive, second baseman Josh Salinas made a spectacular catch for the third out, keeping the Blue Eagles off the scoreboard.

In the fourth inning, however, La Salle was able to rally for some runs. After Macasaet was able to get both Ignacio Escano and Carl Munoz for the first two outs, Cholo Dominguez was able to work a walk to get on base. Kiko Gesmundo and Paul Naguit were then hit by a pitch and walked, respectively, to load the bases for Salinas. Before Salinas worked a walk, a wild pitch allowed Dominguez to score the first run of the ball game. With the bases still loaded, Hashimoto hit a screamer down the right field lane for a base-clearing triple. Centerfielder Pao Salud then hit an RBI single to give the Taft-based squad the five-run lead after three and a half innings.

On the first pitch of the next inning, Gino Tantuico hit a homerun to left-center field to get a run back. Ramos hit a succeeding double but was unable to score.

In the next inning, the Green Batters got the run back through a Gesmundo sacrifice-fly that scored Escano, making the score 6-1 in favor of DLSU.

In the next inning, Banzon and Mallari were again able to get into scoring position for the Blue Eagles. This time though, they were able to capitalize. Furasawa hit a hot shot to third base that Gesmundo was unable to handle, allowing ADMU to cut the lead to three, 6-3.

Late in the game, La Salle was able to add on two key insurance runs. Munoz led off the eighth inning with a triple and Dominguez hit a succeeding sacrifice-fly to score him. An inning later, Munoz again got on base and Dominguez again was able to drive him in, but this time with an RBI-single.

In their third consecutive year meeting in the UAAP finals, both teams started the game showcasing their defensive wares through the first three innings. One of the highlights was a spectacular catch by the second baseman Salinas off a laser hot shot by a Blue Batter that ended the third inning.

DLSU coach Joseph Orilliana praised Lozano for his fine pitching throughout the game, saying that he showed maturity and grace under pressure despite being a rookie.

Lozano credited his coach for devising the game plan of pitching coming off the dugout in place of Barandarian, saying, “I felt good going in. That was coach’s plan from the start, for me to come off the bench so I could have a lot of energy, and his plan worked.”

This win marked La Salle’s first in a Finals since 2003. Now, the Green Batters are one win away from clinching the championship. Game 2 will be on Monday, March 14, at 12 noon in the same venue.