THE ATENEO Blue Eagles completed a comeback against archrivals the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 13-11, in their first-round meeting for Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) on Sunday, February 24, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

In the high-scoring affair, Blue Eagle Yoji Ueda stood out with his timely hits that gave Ateneo momentum. Team Captain Javi Macasaet went 2/6, while contributing four runs batted in.

Ateneo’s offense came out gunning in the first inning, as J. Macasaet and Martin James Tan each batted in a run to make it a 2-0 ballgame. DLSU’s Boo Barandiaran answered for the Taft-based squad as he brought home leadoff hitter Juan Diego Lozano to cut Ateneo’s lead to half.

Ateneo took advantage of a fielding error from DLSU to extend their lead to 3-1 at the top of the second inning, but DLSU hit back with two consecutive singles. Barandiaran took advantage of the situation, finding a gap in center field for a base hit to tie the ballgame at 3-apiece.

After a relatively quiet third inning, DLSU gained some rhythm in the fourth to pull ahead. Mark Bill Evangelista was batted in by Lozano with a single after a sacrifice bunt put Evangelista in scoring position. Barandiaran then drew a walk and Lozano advanced to third, which enabled Francis Gesmundo bring Lozano to home plate with a single. The scoring continued as Paulo Salud ripped a single to score another run, 3-6, before the side was retired.

Ateneo showed signs of life in the fifth, as catcher Dino Altomonte hit an RBI-double to bring in J. Macasaet and Gino Tantuico and narrow DLSU’s lead to one. However, DLSU found their groove, reestablishing their three-point lead in the sixth inning, courtesy of Lozano and Salud. Lozano did his damage through a solo home run, while Salud brought home Luis Escano on a well-placed single.

The seventh inning saw Ateneo catch fire and explode for six runs to take the lead for good. DLSU starting pitcher Luis Ramon Minana started to show signs of fatigue and the Katipunan-based squad took full advantage. He walked the first two Ateneo batters without throwing a single strike, which prompted the DLSU coaching staff to bring in relief pitcher Arvin Herrera. Herrera retired the next two batters, but his pitch hit Rod Bitong to load the bases. Ueda was up next to bat, and he answered the call with a bases-clearing triple to tie the game at 8.

The Blue Eagles weren’t finished. They tacked on three more runs to gain some separation before the inning ended courtesy of Marco Mallari and Macasaet.

Ateneo’s pitching and fielding shut out DLSU for the seventh and eighth innings, while the offense added two more runs in the eighth to stretch the lead, 13-8. DLSU made a final push in the ninth with Gesmundo hitting a three-run homer to cut Ateneo’s lead to two. However, the separation Ateneo created proved to be too much for their Taft-based rivals.

With the win, Ateneo remains perfect at 3-0 in their UAAP Season 81 campaign. Their next game will be against defending champion, Adamson University, on Wednesday, February 27, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.