THE ATENEO Baseball Team suffered a season sweep from the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Batters, 5-9, stretching their losing skid to five in their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 campaign. The match was held earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in the City of Manila.
The loss plummets the last-placed Blue Eagles deeper in the standings, now sitting at 1-7 in the win-loss column of the tournament. Notably, this loss also eliminates the Blue and White from Final Four contention, with either the University of the Philippines or University of Santo Tomas set to finish with at least four wins depending on the result of their final game on April 29.
Right from the start of the first inning, the Blue Eagles failed to find their rhythm, with DLSU’s Lord Aragorn De Vera striking the first two batters out.
This defensive clinic was then followed by consistent base knocks by the Green Batters, helping them surge to a dominant 3-0 advantage at the bottom of the first inning.
The next two innings saw Ateneo struggling to get on the board, as the La Salle battery snuffed out most of their offensive efforts. On the other hand, the Green Batters comfortably tacked two more runs to the detriment of the Blue Eagles, even despite their attempts to change pitchers, 0-5.
With De Vera’s pitch count going past 50, the Katipunan-based squad immediately saw the perfect opportunity to come back in the fourth frame. Taking advantage of the pitcher’s depleted stamina, a single by Matthew San Juan, followed by a Joshua De Juras double, brought the Blue Eagles back into scoring contention, 2-6.
In addition to a run sparked by Wax Mendoza’s RBI, 3-6, Ateneo entered the bottom of the fourth with only a three-run deficit—a stark contrast to their performance to open the game.
Although DLSU’s Barry Oñas successfully cracked a triple off Ateneo, 7-3, the Blue Eagles quickly recomposed themselves and collected two more outs en route to the fifth inning.
With rejuvenated energy, the Blue and White carried their momentum into the fifth frame despite La Salle’s switch of pitchers. Lorenzo Montemayor swung a long single into left field, which was directly followed by Dax Fabella’s double that drove home a run for the Blue Eagles. However, La Salle’s Yuan Sumague stumped Ateneo’s offense by striking out the next two batters in succession, stalling the game at 4-7.
Determined to get back into the game, Aleck Ferrolino led the Blue Eagles to limiting the Green Batters to their first scoreless inning of the game—only allowing a single player on base.
Moving into the sixth inning, the Blue and White looked to garner more runs after a walk led to Bop Bernardo getting on base. With rhythm on his swing, Mendoza’s liner brought Bernardo and himself into scoring position. Despite the golden opportunity, Luis Casanova’s line drive missed the mark, retiring the top of the sixth.
The bottom of the sixth proved troublesome for the already-reeling Ateneo, as the Blue Eagles allowed two DLSU runs off the bat after a catching error. However, Lucas Atendido kept Ateneo’s composure, splitting the next four batters that got the Blue Eagles into a bases-loaded situation on two outs. With mounting pressure, Atendido struck out DLSU’s Andres Lacson to stop the bleeding for the Blue Eagles, 4-9.
Both teams suffered from an offensive drought during the seventh inning, with either squads failing to even get the ball outside of the infield.
However, the drought ended in the top of the eighth when Ateneo positioned multiple runners on base after consecutive hits. With Rafa Aquino in scoring position, Alfy Tueres drove in a single that netted the Blue and White’s fifth run of the day. Despite more bases loaded, Ateneo failed to capitalize on ground-outs, keeping them at a considerable 5-9 deficit. In the back half of the eighth, Atendido continued his pitching excellence to retire the side, only allowing one hit to give the Blue Eagles a slight chance to overcome their four-run deficit.
With one last opportunity to get back into the game, the Blue Eagles sought to reclaim their offensive groove similar to what the team showcased in the third inning. The Katipunan-based squad managed to get Casanova and Montemayor on base with zero outs in the frame. However, Ateneo ultimately succumbed to a fatal, game-ending stumble, with the Blue Eagles failing to get another runner on base, putting a possible win out of reach.
Despite being eliminated from Final Four contention, the Blue Eagles will attempt to end their five-game skid against the National University Bulldogs on April 13, Sunday, at 7:00 AM at the same venue.
The Lines:
Ateneo (5): 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 – 5 7 3
DLSU (9): 3 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 x – 9 11 2
Current Standings (W-L):
- NU Bulldogs (7-1)
- DLSU Green Batters (6-2)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (4-4)
- UP Fighting Maroons (3-5)
- UST Golden Sox (3-5)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (1-7)
