STARTING OFF Round 2 of UAAP Baseball Season 75, the Ateneo Blue Batters outplayed Adamson University, 12-1, on Thursday, January 24, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Field. Team Ateneo’s winning streak has improved to six and their record remains perfect.

Ateneo gained the upper hand of the game early on after scoring two runs each in the first and second inning through Adriane Bernardo, Gab Bagamasbad, Matt Laurel and Dio Remollo.

Rookie Miguel Salud, who was the starting pitcher, pitched for a total of four innings with three hits, four walks, and one strikeout. Salud was later replaced by Andy Tan in the bottom of the fifth. Tan pitched for three innings with two hits, one run, two strikeouts and one error. The Batters reached further into their pitching rotation, sending Adriane Bernardo to close down the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Adriane Bernardo breezed through the inning with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.

The team’s biggest inning came at the top of the seventh, where Ateneo rallied for five runs with two outs. Adriane Bernardo initiated the rally with a single followed by a solid standing triple by rookie Leandro Banzon. Laurel and Remollo then delivered a double and a single, respectively. Capitalizing on Adamson’s errors, co-captain Bocc Bernardo made a run, stealing home to secure Ateneo’s five-run inning, 8-1.

The Blue Batters tightened their grip in the top of the eighth, after batters Bocc Bernardo, Banzon and Laurel contributed three more runs to claim the win, 12-1.