Hoping to make a statement against last year’s runner-up, the DLSU Green Batters started strong and never looked back as they defeated the UST Growling Tigers, 13-7, earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Field. The win is the second in a row in a so far unblemished record to start the season for the Season 78 Champions.
“It was an all around effort; hitting was back, defense was solid, and our pitching was phenomenal,” explained Joshua Salinas after the victory.
DLSU came out of the gates firing as the team scored two runs each in the first two innings. UST, though, scored a run in the third inning and continued to fight back in the succeeding frame as they were able to score another three runs. Martinez drove in two runs, while Ron Dela Cruz drove in his teammate with a double. Dela Cruz was picked off at second base to end the frame still in favor of DLSU.
La Salle made the most of their opportunities as they played small ball to produce runs. In the fifth inning, Cholo Dominguez reached on a single before advancing to third after a miscommunication on a pick-off attempt by UST. He then scored on an RBI groundout by Anton Acuña. In the next inning, two straight Green Batters got on base after getting hit by a pitch, and then Kiko Gesmundo drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
In the seventh inning, the Green Batters put the game out of reach after a Paolo Salud triple brought home both Paul Naguit and Angelo Tantuico to extend the DLSU lead to 10-5. Both teams would continue to score runs in the next innings, highlighted by a Gesmundo home run, before the final score read 13-7, in favor of the Green and White.
While Green Batter Starting Pitcher Arvin Herrera only lasted four innings, fourth-year player Boo Barandiaran came in and held down the fort for La Salle. Though the first batter he faced, UST’s Calbang, greeted him with a leadoff home run, Barandiaran settled down and pitched an efficient game for La Salle.
It was not the prettiest of games to watch as both teams had mental lapses on defense throughout the game. UST, however, committed more errors that extended innings and resulted in runs for the Green Batters. That ended up being the team from España’s downfall as it could not score enough runs to overcome its mistakes.
Coach Joseph Orillana made a few tweaks to his starting lineup in today’s game as captain Andre Palacios got the nod over Tuwi Park in right field, as Diego Lozano moved in to play first base. Tantuico once again came in as a defensive replacement, while Enzo Amado made his UAAP debut, coming in to play second base for Acuña.
NU is next on DLSU’s schedule as they play on Sunday, at the same venue, as La Salle looks to stay undefeated.
