DEFENDING UNIVERSITY Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) baseball champions Ateneo Blue Batters opened their Season 76 campaign with an overwhelming victory against Adamson University (AdU), 15-3, on January 5, 2014 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. The game ended after only seven innings, as the mercy rule was implemented.

AdU opened the game strong, scoring two quick runs in the top of the first and another in the top of second. However, the Falcons failed to score any more runs against the Ateneo defense throughout the game.

The Blue Batters began to get on board with a run each from veterans Pelos Remollo and Adriane Bernardo at the bottom of the second. This made the score 3-2 still in favor of AdU.

In the bottom of the third, Ateneo gained the upper hand from a runs-batted-in (RBI) single from designated hitter Ryon Tionloc. A total of three more runs would be scored in the inning, care of Batters Chip Esguerra, Leandro Banzon and Bernardo. This brought the score up to 6-3 in what would be Ateneo’s biggest inning.

With the departure of last year’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, Miguel Salud, the pitching duties rested primarily on the shoulders of veteran Andy Tan who pitched for a total of five innings. Showcasing the depth of their bullpen this year, rookies Miguel Dumlao and Nacho Conjuangco both made their UAAP debuts on the mound. Dumlao pitched at the top of the sixth, while Cojuangco closed out the game at the top of the seventh.

Tionloc led the way for Ateneo with a total of four RBIs. His biggest hit came at the bottom of the fourth with an RBI triple. Bernardo also finished the game with three RBIs, one being a RBI triple at the bottom of the fifth.

“We have been training all year long for this one tournament and we felt during the last practice that we were all gelled as a team,” says team captain Remollo. “We are in this to win this,” he adds.

The Blue Batters will continue their title defense against archrivals De La Salle Green Archers on Thursday, January 9, 2014, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.