In a rematch of last season’s Finals, the DLSU Green Batters got a taste of deja vu as they suffered a familiar loss to the NU Bulldogs, 11-7, in Round One of the UAAP Season 87 Baseball Tournament earlier today, March 26, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Slow start
Captain Agon De Vera started the game strong, striking out NU’s John Olazo. The top of the first was later brought to an early end as Kent Altarejos was caught in first base by Marco Flores. Meanwhile, Kenneth Maulit’s hit was caught by DLSU. La Salle also had a short stint at the bottom of the first as Barry Oñas, Ezykiel Bautista, and Flores were unable to get to base.
At the top of the second, Kevin Maulit and Herald Tenorio loaded the bases early on. Nigel Paule hit a strong run, sending Kev. Maulit and Tenorio home and opening the scoring in favor of the Bulldogs, 2-0. At the bottom of the second, Liam De Vera reached first base after an error by NU’s Amiel De Guzman. However, the Green Batters could not capitalize on this opportunity as Joseph Alcontin was struck out by De Guzman.
The defending champions doubled their lead at the top of the third. Ken. Maulit got two RBIs as Olazo and Altarejos ran to home plate from third and second base, respectively, 4-0. After the runs of the Bulldogs, Oñas replaced A. De Vera as pitcher, allowing the rookie to catch Olazo and Tenorio out at first base. The Green-and-White’s struggles continued at the bottom of the third as Miguel Agoncillo was struck out, while both Yuan Sumague and Oñas were denied by NU’s defense.
The Green Batters finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning after the Bulldogs failed to capitalize on their momentum. NU’s hits were immediately caught by the Lasallian defense. Bautista got to first after his hit at the bottom of the fourth. Flores’ hit allowed Bautista to advance to second base. L. De Vera then delivered one RBI, enabling Bautista to get a run to end the fourth inning, 4-1.
With the Green Batters leaving a scratch on the Bulldogs after the fourth, the navy blue shirts responded immediately. Altorejos’s hit allowed Olazo to get run from a loaded base to extend their lead to four once again, 5-1. La Salle had a short stint at the bottom of the fifth as they were caught out by NU before they could reach first base.
Fine margins
Following constant mishaps in the early innings, La Salle tightened up their defense, quickly forcing out Tenorio in the sixth inning. However, Jobert Gorpido and Paule managed to slip through, tallying two runs to push NU’S lead to 7-1. Oñas then managed to strike out Olazo to close the top of the sixth inning.
With DLSU now batting, Bautista hit a center field to reach first base, followed by another single from Flores. Renato Samuel then bagged a successful hit for La Salle to load all bases. The Green Batters came alive after a L. De Vera hit, which allowed Bautista and Flores to reach home plate, cutting the deficit to four, 7-3. Samuel then followed with his own run after a clean strike by A. De Vera, 7-4. Now wary of DLSU’s surge, NU tightened up their defense and secured their third out after tagging out Agoncillo to close the sixth inning.
To start the seventh inning, Oñas’s pitching continued to trouble the NU batters, allowing La Salle to quickly secure three outs. The Lasallians’ resolute defense provided the platform for their batting capabilities. With the momentum shifting, Sumague hit a ball to left field and dashed to second base to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Although Oñas and Bautista were both outed by NU, it gave Sumague the chance to reach third base. Flores and Samuel then delivered crucial hits that allowed Sumague to reach home plate while letting La Salle fill the bases, 7-5. With a successful hit by L. De Vera, the game rapidly changed as it allowed a double play by La Salle with Flores and Samuel reaching home base, 7-all. With NU stunned, they shifted their focus to secure three outs and shut down La Salle’s momentum, eventually culminating in a fly out to Alcontin.
With the two teams aware of each other’s offensive capabilities, the eighth and ninth innings turned into a defensive battle, with neither side able to score. Despite this, the Bulldogs managed to execute a nifty defensive play that caught out Samuel, who was positioned too far from first base in the ninth inning.
In the extra inning, the defending champions went full throttle to protect their unbeaten record this season. Defensive miscommunication from the Green Batters saw Altarejos reach home base after Kev. Maulit’s hit evaded the Lasallians. NU then went on a hitting spree as Gorpido, Paule, and Julius Soriano all connected, allowing the Maulit brothers and Tenorio to reach home base, 11-7. Now with a mountain to climb, DLSU valiantly tried to overcome the four-point deficit, but it proved to be a gap too wide to cross. The Lasallian trio of Jomar Villacruz, Agoncillo, and Joaquin Go were quickly all put out by NU to end the matchup.
After the game, Head Coach Joseph Orillana shared that the team never gave up hope despite their early struggles as the game was still for the taking, “Sabi ko sa kanila, good thing early innings nangyari mga error nila. Mayroon pang time na makahabol sila basta huwag lang sila mawala sa game plan namin at focus pa rin sila. Once na magbago ‘yung momentum, dirediretso na, makakabalik tayo sa game. One run at a time.”
(I told them good thing their errors happened during the early innings. There is still time to catch up as long as they stick to the game plan and stay focused. Once the momentum is changed, go all the way, and we can come back in the game. One run at a time.)
Looking ahead, Coach Orillana highlighted the importance of mental fortitude as the team prepares for Round Two, “‘Yung tapang sa laro, ‘yung mental toughness, [at] ‘yung drive to win nila. Kasi ‘yung last two wins namin bago ito halos dikit-dikit ‘yung mga laban at nasurvive nila yon. Itong game na ito doon lang sila medyo bumigay kaya sabi ko mental toughness ang labanan dito. Labanan ‘to ng Baseball IQ. Patalinuhan sa laro talaga. Mental toughness at ‘yung mind game talaga.”
(The bravery in playing, the mental toughness, and their drive to win. Because in our last two wins, the fight was also close and they were able to survive it. This game they kind of let go in the end that is why I told them that mental toughness is the name of the game. It is a fight of Baseball IQ. It is about being smart in playing. It is really about mental toughness and mind games.)
Even with this loss, the Green Batters remain second in the Baseball Tournament standings with a 3-2 record. They await the schedule for Round Two, where they look to reclaim their title.
