The DLSU Green Batters avenged their Round 1 loss to the UST Growling Tigers with an emphatic seven-inning mercy rule victory, 10-0, earlier today, March 25, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Liam De Vera spearheaded the win with a two-way masterclass as he pitched a complete game, allowing no runs and striking out seven batters, while also contributing two RBIs on the hitting side.
In complete control
After enduring high-scoring slugfests in their past matches, La Salle’s starting pitcher De Vera flipped the script by shutting down the UST lineup in the first three frames of the game. The second-year player allowed no runs and only one hit in the aforementioned period.
Looking to support their pitcher, the Green Batters came alive offensively in the bottom of the third. The rally started when Ezy Bautista reached second on a throwing error to first. Marco Flores would then bring home the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to left field. Jose Tantuico and De Vera would tack on two more after a double and a single, respectively, to give the Taft-based squad a 3-0 advantage.
De Vera kept his groove on the mound in the top of the fourth as he only allowed the lead-off man to get on base before retiring the next three hitters in order, including two punchouts.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Green Batters continued to build on their lead by capitalizing on the Growling Tigers’ errors and timely hitting. After UST starting pitcher Jesus Cabigao walked the first two batters, Bautista hit an RBI single to start another rally. With the bases loaded, Flores gave DLSU a firm grip on the game with a two-RBI double. The Green-and-White took advantage of command issues from the UST pitchers to tack on another run, increasing the advantage to 7-0 at the end of the fourth.
Dominating form
Kickstarting the top of the fifth inning, De Vera’s pitching challenged the batting, emerging in a flyout. Despite this rough start, Janssen Fernandez and Charlie Belgar batting shot true, opening their chances for each to score a single. However, the following runners fell to the green defense as Kevin Liwag and Marvin Trillana were dispatched with a flyout and ground-out, respectively.
DLSU’s turn on the deck found a swift run to add to the scoreboard with Yuta Kajihara leading off a triple. Bautista’s turn encountered a wild pitch, opening the path home for Kajihara, 8-0. Barry Oñas would follow by stealing second base as Tuting Samuel advanced to third shortly after. However, between the two steals, La Salle faced dual outs with Tantuico’s turn on-deck closing the inning with a third.
At the start of the top sixth inning, De Vera stood again at the mound, drilling at Prince Geronimo’s form, forcing streaks of fouls before the Thomasian was put in his place by a flyout. Trillana was also dispatched swiftly with a flyout, while De Leon’s hit shot true, gaining a double-base capture for the golden offense. However, another flyout was issued to end the half.
With the Lasallians now on deck, Tantuico blasted the first pitch for a quick first-base snatch but his run was cut short as he was issued a flyout. Although De Vera’s chance also broke from a flyout, Yuan Sumague batted into first base. Continuing their dominance, Villamel shot another pitch to the outfield and bagged a double with Kajihara scoring a single shortly after, bringing the scoreboard to 10-0. The green defense then swiftly dispatched UST’s batters as they were crushed by consecutive flyouts, ending the match with a mercy rule victory.
The Green Batters look to maintain their Round 2 momentum in their meeting with the AdU Soaring Falcons on Sunday, March 29, at the same venue.
