In the final match of a championship series that went down to the wire, the DLSU Green Batters edged the ADMU Blue Eagles, 11-9, earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
After the game, head coach Joseph Orillana shared how it felt to take the crown after all the hard work the team put in throughout the season. “Mission accomplished. Sabi ko naman pag nandoon yung good character, mananalo tayo kasi nandoon na rin yung skills and experience, yung character nalang. Hindi ako nawalan ng tiwala sa kanila na mababalik nila yung title sa La Salle,” he elaborated
(Mission accomplished. I said before, if there’s good character, we can win because we already have the skills and the experience—only the character is missing. I didn’t lose my faith in them, that they could bring the title back to La Salle.)
Kiko Gesmundo of the Green Batters went 2-4 at bat, which included a two-run homer in the ninth inning; he also pitched seven innings until he was eventually relieved by Arvin Herrera.
The Green Batters set the tone early as they scored two runs in the first inning. With the bases loaded, Tuwi Park worked the count for a walk to score the leadoff hitter Paolo Salud. Anton Rosas followed with an RBI single, giving La Salle a two-run cushion.
Gesmundo then made quick work of Ateneo’s offense with a 1-2-3 inning to bring La Salle back on the offensive. At the top of the second inning, Boo Barandiaran sent one to the outfield for a sacrifice fly to score Angelo Tantuico.
Ateneo willed their way back into the game as Dino Altomonte was able to score on a wild pitch, cutting La Salle’s lead back to two, 3-1.
The Green Batters continued to build on their lead as they scored one more run in the third inning and two in the fourth. However, the ADMU Blue Eagles were determined to get back in the game.
In the fifth inning, with the bases loaded, Blue Eagle Martin Tan sent a ball to right field for a 2-RBI single. Ateneo continued their offensive rally in the sixth inning, as they tallied two more runs, courtesy of RBIs from Marco Mallari and Javi Macasaet, which put their team within one, 6-5.
In the eighth inning, both teams displayed their grit and will to win, as it ended with a tie at 9 apiece. In the ninth inning, however, La Salle scored two runs, as Gesmundo sent a ball over the outfield wall for a two-run home run with two outs.
The Blue Eagles were unable to surmount the two-run deficit, as Gio Salvatierra struck out swinging, followed by Lean Ramos, who grounded into the double play that gave the team from Taft its second championship in four years.
Individual awards
As the baseball tournament came to an end, DLSU took home most of the individual awards for this season. UST’s Mark Beronilla clinched the Rookie of the Year (ROY) honor, while NU’s Marjoseph Carolino claimed the Best Pitcher award. In addition, Adamson Soaring Falcon Erwin Bosito was named the player with the Most Stolen Bases.
Green Batter team captain Ignacio Escaño was awarded Most RBI’s while Boo Barandiaran was named Best Hitter. Diego Lozano claimed the Best Slugger and Most Homeruns awards. DLSU swept the Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors as Diego Lozano was hailed Season MVP and fellow Lasallian Kiko Gesmundo was awarded the Finals MVP award.
Team captain Ignacio Escaño talked about what he felt when the first base umpire called the final out. “I didn’t expect it to be double play. In my head, I was like Boo don’t throw anymore please, but when the umpire called it, I fell to the ground. I was overwhelmed with emotions. All the hard work and sacrifices paid off, and right now, there’s no word to describe how I felt,” he expressed.
After the game Gesmundo shared what he thought about the team’s performance and their motivation heading into the winner-takes-all match. “Pinagandahan ito ng buong team. Nagsacrifice lahat and nag-deliver lahat. At yung mga seniors, kami nila Tuwi at Boo, last game namin, so gusto namin mag-deliver kaya sobrang masaya na Game 3 nag-clutch kami. Para rin ‘to sa mga seniors namin last year kasi natalo kami, so ngayon nabawi namin,” he explained.
(The whole team prepared for this. Everyone sacrificed and delivered. And the seniors, Tuwi, Boo, and I…it’s already our last game, so we want to deliver which is why Game 3 was fun because it was clutch. This is also for our seniors last year because we lost, so this time around we came back.)
