UAAP: Green Batters fend off Blue Eagles in Game 2, clinch Season 78 Baseball Championship

After two runner-up finishes against the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the past two seasons, the DLSU Green Batters have finally overthrown their fierce rivals in a thrilling fashion, clinching an 11-9 walk-off victory that allowed them to capture the UAAP Season 78 Baseball Championship earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Field.

With a large Lasallian crowd cheering them on, the Green Batters rallied from an early 8-3 deficit by capitalizing on a scoring run in the seventh inning that helped them clinch their first championship in 13 years. After the game, pitchers Diego Lozano and Boo Barandiaran were awarded co-Finals MVPs for their strong performances in Games 1 and 2.

Blowing an early lead

In the first inning, newly crowned UAAP Best Hitter Pau Salud and Ignacio Escaño were able to get on base, with Carl Munoz following up with a two-base hit to open the scoring for La Salle. Ateneo pitcher Miguel Dumlao struck the next two batters out to keep the La Salle lead at 1-0. On his part, Lozano would not let any Ateneo Batter score through the first three innings. DLSU would then build on their lead by adding in two more runs, courtesy of a Salud double that drove in Josh Salinas, and a solo homerun from Escaño to left-center field. The run forced Ateneo to make an early pitching change, inserting Paulo Macasaet into the game.

Ateneo retaliated in the fourth inning, scoring six runs that were highlighted by consecutive triples from Alindogan and Rapho Balagtas, which forced DLSU head coach Randy Orilliana to retire Lozano for fellow rookie pitcher Arvin Herrera.

Marco Mallari hit an RBI triple on the first pitch Herrera threw to extend the Ateneo lead to two, 5-3. Kai Furusawa continued the outburst with an RBI single that scored Mallari. Herrera mercifully forced Ramos, the tenth batter of the inning, to pop-up, ending the inning.

By the top of the fifth inning, the hot hitting of the Blue Eagles continued as Remollo led off the frame with a single. Ryan Hilario then hit an easy groundball to DLSU shortstop Franco Hashimoto, but first baseman Tuwi Park was unable to handle the throw, resulting in another Ateneo run off his error. With the next two batters also getting on base, ADMU had the chance to blow the game open with the bases loaded and no outs. After Balagtas struck out, Mallari hit a single into left field. Cholo Dominguez then made a tremendous throw from left field that resulted in Hilario getting tagged out at home. Barandiaran, who replaced Herrera on the mound, then caught Furusawa looking at strike three to limit the damage to just a run.

With the top of the order due up, DLSU looked to make some damage in the bottom half of the inning. The Blue Batters would respond with brilliant defense, as Macasaet grounded out Salud, along with Dominguez and Escaño both hitting flyballs that were not far enough from the reach of the Blue Eagle outfielders. Likewise, Ateneo continued to tack on points as Remollo drove in Tantuico, who hit a leadoff double with a sacrifice fly.

Green batters’ surge

The bottom of the sixth inning saw La Salle having their best chance in a while after a perfectly placed bunt by Paul Naguit loaded the bases for DLSU. With two outs, it was there that Hashimoto hit a pop-up that was just too far for Ateneo shortstop Tantuico to haul in. As a result, two runners scored, cutting the lead to three, 8-5. The Blue Eagles immediately responded in the next inning, as Mallari hit an RBI double that restored the Ateneo lead to four runs.

By the seventh inning, the Green Batters were finally able to fight back. After a single and double by Dominguez and Escaño, respectively, two consecutive hit batters resulted in a run for DLSU and a chance with the bases loaded for sophomore Kiko Gesmundo. Before he could even take a swing, a wild pitch by Macasaet allowed Escaño to go home, cutting the lead to two. With still no outs, the Ateneo coaching staff decided to make a pitching chance and move the shortstop Tantuico to the mound.

The change proved to be a case of too little too late for the Blue Batters, as La Salle would continue its offensive onslaught with Gesmundo hitting a 2-RBI single to tie the game at 9-all. After the next two batters were walked, the bases were loaded yet again, but this time it was Salud’s chance to give the lead back to La Salle. With one swing of the bat, he hit a ground ball that found a hole in the right side of the infield to allow two more Green Batters to score.

After Tantuico was not able to record a single out, Nacho Lozano was the next person assigned with the task of stopping the bleeding for ADMU. Facing Escaño, the pitcher induced a crucial double play that ended the inning. The Taft-based squad carried a two-run lead heading into the eighth inning.

Thrilling until the last out

The pressure, however, did not stop for both teams as they went toe-to-toe until the final out. By the eighth inning, Barandarian found himself with the bases loaded and just one out. The game took an interesting turn when Blue Batter Javi Macasaet had caused what looked like an inning-ending double play. However, the first base umpire called the runner safe, giving the Blue Eagles another chance. Luckily for DLSU, the umpire’s mistake did not come back to hurt them as Alindogan struck out to end the inning.

With the lead still at two, Ateneo had three outs remaining to extend their season. In their way was Barandiaran, who was set to face the top of the ADMU batting order. After Balagtas and Mallari struck out, pinch-hitter Dino Altomonte represented the Blue Eagles’ last hope. With a single, the team was able to bring Tantuico to the plate. However, he grounded out to third base, ending the game and giving DLSU the championship.

Lozano, who completely frazzled the Ateneo batters in Game 1, was just unable to find the rhythm and command that were key to his dominance in the series opener. The offense was able to pick him up with just enough runs to win the game. Barandiaran followed him with a solid outing that also kept La Salle in the game.

“This [win] was dedicated to Anton Acuña’s dad [Noli],” Lozano said after the game. “This win is for him.”

At the end of the game, Muñoz, the graduating team captain, took his final walk to the bases, elated that he won the championship in his final year with the team.

“It feels pretty good [winning the championship]. We worked hard for this, everyone did it for themselves. It wasn’t for me, it wasn’t for the team — we did it for ourselves,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Orilliana was overjoyed with his players’ performance and resilience, winning his first championship as a coach after being a player in the last championship team 13 years ago. However, when asked if there was a difference between winning as a coach and as a player, he mentioned that the former was much more difficult, saying, “Kapag player ka, yung iniintindihan mo lang ang sarili mo. As a coach, kailangan mong alamin ang lahat sa team.”