The Ateneo Blue Eagles toppled the number one-seeded De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers at 9-6 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Baseball tournament on Wednesday, February 14, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.
The Blue Eagles displayed consistency throughout the game, maintaining their hold over an early lead in the first inning despite La Salle’s inspired run halfway into the game. Ateneo responded perfectly through the nine-inning effort of decorated pitcher Paulo Macasaet and his brother whose steady fielding and hitting proved to be a game changer.
Drawing first blood with a whopping triple from cleanup Javi Macasaet, Ateneo was first to tally a run after sending home Marco Mallari. Designated hitter Ryen Hilario scored another runner with a deep sac fly to right field and gave the Blue Eagles the early 2-0 lead.
The DLSU side, however, lost no time in making a response. Acuna’s fly to center granted teammate Salinas a safe passage home to close the gap at 2-1. On the Ateneo side, a hard grounder from captain Marquis Alindogan and a sacrificial ground out from Dino Altomonte placed the second baseman in scoring position. Gio Salvatierra then slammed one to center, recovering his team’s two-run lead heading into a fiery fifth inning.
After stealing both second and third, Mallari was once again brought home by a timely Macasaet fly to center field. With the bases loaded after an intentional walk on Alindogan, Altomonte grounded one to short, but a fumble led two runners home. An ensuing blast to deep center from Dan Laurel only added to Ateneo’s lead and Enzo Orbeta followed with a hit of his own that gave Ateneo the commanding 8-1 advantage.
Errors for the Blue and White surrendered easy runs for La Salle, who scored a run following two mishandled grounders to infield. An Acuna triple followed by a passed ball and a Herrera hit down the right field foul line closed the scoreline to a minimal 8-6 lead.
At the top of the ninth, crucial doubles from Hilario and Alindogan lit the fire as the Blue Eagles put their foot on the gas. After an intentional walk to load the bases, Kiko Andaya stepped up to the plate and drilled one past infield to score, making it a 9-6 game. The Blue Eagles, however, failed to make the most out of the scoring opportunity, tallying three outs to gain a three-run cushion entering the bottom of the ninth.
Ateneo then sealed the game with stellar defense in the match’s dying moments. On defense, substitute rookie Tres Sarmiento made three receptions at first, including an impressive splitting catch, that put away La Salle for good and hand the Green Archers their first loss all season.
With the game’s conclusion, La Salle, Ateneo, and Adamson are deadlocked at the top of the leaderboard with one loss each. Ateneo’s last matchup of the first round will be a bout against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Sunday, February 18, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.
