The DLSU Green Batters booked a ticket back to the Final Four after taking out rivals ADMU Blue Eagles, 9-5, in their UAAP Season 87 Baseball Tournament Round Two matchup earlier today, April 9, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Taking control
Only a win away from a Final Four spot, the DLSU Green Batters started strong at the top of the first inning, with Team Captain Agon De Vera taking charge as the team’s pitcher. Sharp defense saw the Lasallians close off the Ateneans with two strike outs and one force out. Now on the offensive, DLSU’s Ezykiel Bautista got things off with a solid hit to center field before dashing to second base. Successful hits from Barry Oñas, Marco Flores, and Liam De Vera opened the floodgates for the Green Batters. Bautista, Oñas, and L. De Vera all reached home plate before the Blue Eagles stopped the early bleeding, 3-0.
The Taft-based squad carried their momentum into the second inning, with A. De Vera’s pitching stifling Ateneo. The national team standout eliminated the runs of Joshua De Juras, Angelo Bernardo, and Alejandro Mendoza with two strikeouts and one forced out to swiftly close the top of the second inning. Aiming to replicate their success in the first inning, DLSU once again sent their batters to the plate to exploit the frail Atenean defense. The blue shirts’ defense showed slight improvement, as Bautista was quickly struck out by Ateneo’s Manuel Senador before the likes of Oñas and L. De Vera were also outed. However, Yuan Sumague was able to slip between his opponent’s plates to score the lone point in the second inning, 4-0.
Going into the third inning, La Salle’s defensive solidity continued to nullify the attacks of the Blue Eagles, who once again shot blanks. To add to the Atenean woes, pitcher Senador was constantly missing his targets, forcing an early pitching substitution. Renato Samuel and Pio Villamiel both walked despite Ateneo’s best efforts. With all bases loaded, a good Sumague hit deep into center field allowed Samuel to reach home plate. Villamiel followed in the next play, before Ateneo finally managed to get their third out to close the third inning, 6-0.
Still blank into the fourth inning, Ateneo’s offense finally began to cause problems for DLSU. The Blue Eagles’ Luis Mendoza managed to creep up the bases before a powerful right field strike from Matt San Juan allowed the former to reach home base, 6-1. In the next play, a successful hit from De Juras allowed San Juan to reach home, 6-2. To the Green Batters’ surprise, the Atenean surge continued, with A. Mendoza sending a center ground ball through La Salle’s defense so De Juras could complete a run, 6-3. DLSU finally ended their opponent’s momentum with a fly out and a force out, respectively. Looking to bounce back, the Green-and-White managed one run in the fourth inning through Oñas, who managed a strong right field hit to reach third base before eventually getting to home base, 7-3.
The start of the fifth inning saw a pitching change for La Salle, with Sumague stepping in place of his captain. The change did not stop Ateneo from adding to their tally, as a powerful right fielder from Daniel Fabella opened the defense for Enzo Montemayor to run home, 7-4. With the deficit now shrinking, DLSU were unable to grow their lead to a more comfortable scoreline, as improved positioning from the Blue Eagles quickly ended the fifth inning.
Final Four bound
At the top of the sixth, the Blue Eagles were able to advance through the bases again after errors from the Lasallian defense. However, the Green Batters forced three outs from flyouts to immediately end the top inning. In the bottom inning, misthrows by the Ateneo pitcher allowed La Salle to get walks to bases. With runners prepared on the bases, a good hit by Oñas bagged him two RBIs as Sumague and Bautista ran to home plate. Ateneo put in Lucas Atendido to pitch after allowing two runs. This proved to be the right decision as he limited La Salle with just two runs, ending the bottom of the sixth at 9-4.
The Green-and-White also made quick work of Ateneo’s first three hitters at the top of the seventh. The Green Batters were unable to replicate their previous inning stint as Miguel Agoncillo, Sumague, and Bautista were unable to break through the Atenean defense.
Sumague’s pitching fatigue was evident at the top of the eighth, allowing De Juras to run to first and a hit-by-pitch to Bernardo. With Aquino filling in as a runner for De Juras, A. Mendoza’s hit allowed the pinch runner to get to home base, 9-5. At the bottom of the eighth, a hit by L. De Vera was not enough to tally another run as the Green-and-White reached three outs after a string of flyouts from Ateneo. With the last inning at hand, L. De Vera stepped up as pitcher for the Green Batters. Despite some hitters getting to base, the Lasallians forced an early end to the game after a strikeout and a flyout, 9-5.
DLSU Green Batters Head Coach Joseph Orillana shared that the young squad were able to adjust from their previous games due to more experience, “Kahit papano nakakuha na kayo ng experience. [I said] dun sa rookies namin, ‘Play your best na and ‘di niyo kailangan ma-insecure sa mga kalaban. And lahat naman ‘yan, lalabas yung skills niyo basta naka-focus kayo.’”
(Whatever the case, you guys have gained experience. I said to our rookies, ‘Play your best and you guys don’t need to be insecure. And all in all, your skills will shine as long as you’re focused.’)
Going into a matchup against the UST Growling Tigers, the Taft tactician also stated that the team will stick to their gameplan, “Attack the pitcher. Meron silang contender na pitcher and ano lang is, pag natamaan ‘yung pitcher, dun na anything can happen.”
(They have contending pitchers and if we attack them, anything can happen).
Now that the DLSU Green Batters have secured their Final Four slot, they will be vying for a twice-to-beat advantage going into their next matchup against the UST Growling Tigers this Sunday, April 13, at the same venue.
