THE ATENEO Baseball Team suffered its third University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 loss, this time to defending champion National University (NU) Bulldogs, 6-14. The match was held earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in the City of Manila.
The Blue Eagles came out firing to begin the first inning as Waji Magsadia and Dax Fabella secured consecutive singles on ground balls. A third-straight grounder by Matthew San Juan allowed Magsadia to run to plate and draw first blood, 1-0.
Keeping the momentum rolling for Ateneo, Angelo Bernardo hit a fly ball to right field, paving the way home for San Juan and Fabella, 3-0. Despite this hot start, Blue Eagle Joshua De Juras struggled on the pitching end, surrendering two RBIs to the Bulldogs at the conclusion of the inning, 3-2.
Seeking to bounce back to start the second frame, the Katipunan-based unit bagged two quick runs off an NU error and a sacrifice fly by Fabella, allowing for a Zeke Lagyo run, 5-2. However, Ateneo’s pitching woes came back to bite them at the bottom of the second, as they surrendered multiple walks to the Bulldogs, who drove in four quick RBIs, 5-7, to take the upper hand.
The Blue and White failed to respond to this sour ending, striking out on just four hitters at the top of the third inning. The bottom of the third started on a similar dower note for the Blue Eagles, as they absorbed an emphatic home run by NU’s Herald Tenorio, 5-8. Undeterred by the Bulldogs’ 6-0 surge, Ateneo’s fielders gave a much needed boost of energy as they forced three consecutive outs to end the frame.
Ateneo began to show signs of fatigue in the fourth as they suffered a 1-2-3 inning and a double by NU’s Kenneth Maulit, leading to two RBIs to increase their deficit to five, 5-10.
Set on bridging the gap, the Katipunan-based sluggers opened the fifth frame with the Mendoza duo at the corners. Despite attempts by the Bulldogs’ battery to stifle the Blue Eagles’ batters, one critical error allowed Wax Mendoza to reach home plate, which slowly chipped away at the Bulldogs’ lead, 6-10.
Following the Blue Eagles’ remarkable performance at the plate, the infielders—with the help of reliever M Senador—quickly closed out the inning with a groundout and double play.
However, in the sixth, the Bulldogs followed suit and swiftly recorded three outs of their own. Although Senador recorded two strikeouts in the bottom, NU swiftly tied Ateneo’s earlier comeback attempts, 11-6. The seventh inning proved even worse for the Blue Eagles, as the Bulldogs survived a loaded bases situation and later accumulated two quick easy runs, 6-13.
As the ball game progressed toward its coda, Ateneo could no longer find their form, unable to tally a single hit. Errors piled up on the Katipunan side, enabling the Bulldogs to widen their advantage. By the top of the ninth, Ateneo quickly folded against NU’s defense, sealing the Sunday bout at 6-14.
With the loss, the Blue and White will look to bounce back against the Adamson Soaring Falcons, on March 26, Wednesday, 7:00 AM, at the same venue.
The Lines:
Ateneo (6): 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 – 6 9 4
NU (14): 2 5 1 2 0 1 2 1 x – 14 12 2
Current Standings (W-L):
- NU Bulldogs (4-0)
- DLSU Green Batters (3-1)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (1-2)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-2)
- UST Golden Sox (1-3)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (1-3)
