THE DE La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers outplayed the Ateneo Blue Batters in their second game of Season 76. DLSU proved to be the tougher team, blazing past the defending champs, 13-6 on January 9, 2013 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

DLSU secured their lead in the first inning, immediately scoring two ahead of the Ateneo. The Blue Batters were struggling with their defense, committing several catching errors early on in the ball game. DLSU capitalized on these errors and by the end of the top of the third, they had a solid seven-run lead against the Blue and White.

The Ateneo was finally able to get into the rhythm in the bottom of the third, care of a run from sophomore Leandro Banzon. Veteran Matt Laurel also scored a single run in the inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Banzon contributed another run, cutting down DLSU’s lead to five.

The Ateneo scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth through Ryon Tionloc, Kevin Ramos and Chip Esguerra.

Rookie Nacho Cojuangco opened the game on the mound until he was replaced by batchmate Miguel Dumlao in the top of the third. Finally, senior Andy Tan closed the game in the top of the sixth.

DLSU’s solid defensive plays and hitting proved to be a hurdle for the Ateneo. DLSU was able to rake in more runs consistently from the first to the sixth innings. DLSU batter Franco Hashimoto led the DLSU team, scoring four out of the 13 runs in the ball game.

The Ateneo now stands with 1-1 win loss record, while DLSU is on top with 2-0. The Ateneo will next face the University of the Philippines on Sunday, January 12 at 11 am at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.