THE ATENEO bats sizzled as the Blue Eagles took the victory in their first match of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Baseball Tournament after making quick work of the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 11-5. The match was held earlier today at the University of the Philippines Diliman Baseball Field.
The Blue Eagles opened the floodgates early on, bringing home three early runs in the first two innings of work. This attack was quickly countered by the Bulldogs, however, scoring two unanswered runs to bring the NU deficit down to one at the bottom of the second inning, 2-3.
Ateneo’s pitching staff led by starter Joshua De Juras improved his delivery after allowing two early runs, ultimately shutting out the Bulldogs until the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Blue Eagle batters were holding steady early in the game, seeing the ball well en route to a scoring outburst that began in the fourth inning. Keej Capati opened it up after his two-RBI double brought home Geoffrey Magsadia and Matthew San Juan to the plate. Dax Fabella then followed this up with a ringing double of his own to score Capati from second, putting Ateneo’s score ahead at 6-2 through four innings.
The Ateneo offense continued to do damage in the fifth as Enzo Montemayor, San Juan, and Capati acquired some insurance runs to give the pitchers some breathing room, 11-2, through five innings.
NU cut into the nine-run lead in the final innings thanks in part to some fielding errors made by the Ateneo defense, giving up three runs before ending the match with an Ethan Mitschiener strikeout. The Loyola Heights-based squad eventually took home the win with an 11-5 advantage.
After the match, winning pitcher De Juras shared about the team’s mindset towards a championship run: “Nag prepare talaga kami para dito since summer, pinaghirapan talaga namin yan para (posibleng) makuha namin yung championship (We prepared very well for this since the summer, we worked hard for this so that we will be able to win the championship).”
The Blue Eagles look to continue their winning ways as they battle the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on Wednesday, March 15, at 7:30 AM at the same venue.
