THE ATENEO Men’s Baseball Team (2-4) absorbed their fourth consecutive defeat in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Baseball Tournament after losing to the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons, 10-19. The game was held earlier today at the University of the Philippines Diliman Baseball Field in Quezon City.
The Adamson hitters came out the gates swinging, capitalizing on a missed double-play opportunity by the Blue Eagles to get their first run of the match with a two Run-Batted-In (RBI) triple, 2-0. Another run was then brought in by Adamson before the Blue Eagles could even start hitting, the Falcons at 3-0 heading to the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the first inning, Ateneo was unable to answer back as no runs crossed the plate for them despite having baserunners on.
Adamson carried on their momentum in the second frame after getting out of a jam in the first inning, adding to their lead with a two-RBI single to make it a 5-0 ballgame. The Soaring Falcons pitcher allowed a walk in the bottom of the second, but thanks to a double play ball, Adamson was able to face the minimum to end the threat.
A third-straight rough inning for Ateneo starter Joshua De Juras saw him allow four more runs to cross home via a two-RBI single, a sacrifice fly, and a steal of home plate. The Blue Eagles finally put two across the board after both Lorenzo Montemayor and Luis Capati connected on RBI singles to make it a 2-9 Adamson-led third inning.
Action continued in the sixth inning as an error by an Ateneo fielder allowed a run to come home for Adamson, the next run came on another sacrifice chance, extending the Soaring Falcon lead, 11-2. In the bottom of the same frame, Blue Eagles Ethan Mitschiener and Angelo Bernardo brought in runs to slowly cut into AdU’s lead, 4-11.
Adamson countered by adding three more runs in the top of the seventh, making it a double-digit lead at 14-4. The bottom of the seventh saw Ateneo try to mount a comeback as they scored six runs which was highlighted by a 3-RBI triple by Montemayor, adding to his already productive day. The deficit was cut to just four at 10-14.
Holding on to a precarious lead, the Soaring Falcons offense were not fazed by the comeback, scoring five more runs in the eighth and ninth innings to put this game on ice. The Katipunan-based squad has now allowed 40 runs to cross home in two games. With Ateneo unable to follow up on their seventh inning rally, they drop their fourth straight match after a 10-19 drubbing to Adamson.
The Blue Eagles look to snap their bad run as they face the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, on Sunday, April 2, at 3:30 PM at the same venue.
