VYING FOR a Final Four seat, the Ateneo Blue Eagles fell short against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Batters, 15-18, in their second-round rematch. The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) contest was held earlier today, March 22, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in the City of Manila.
The defeat drops Ateneo to a 3-4 record in the Baseball Tournament, putting the team at risk of falling to fourth in the standings.
From the first pitch, the Blue Eagles came out swinging with Waji Magsadia sending the ball to right field for a single. Team Captain Joshua De Juras and Dale Prades followed suit, which gave Ateneo an early bases-loaded situation. Breaking the suspense, Anton Odulio navigated his at-bat to force the walk, giving the Blue and White the first run of the game, 1-0.
To end the top of the first inning for Ateneo, Joaquin Mariano banked in a line drive that brought Odulio and Dax Fabella home, extending their lead to three, 3-0.
On the opposite end of the frame, Mickey Osorio found difficulty in generating strikeouts for the Blue and White, allowing multiple walks in his first few pitches. Another batch of errors for the Blue Eagles gave way to a double for the Green Batters, which cut the deficit to one, 3-2. Soon after, Fabella caught a ground out to keep Ateneo ahead at the finish of the first inning.
At the beginning of the second inning, the Blue Eagles worked the pitch until Magsadia and De Juras found themselves in scoring situations. Once again, Odulio’s long single brought home the two runners to net him his third run-batted-in of the contest, 5-2. Ateneo regrouped defensively on the other end, only allowing one run off of a passed ball to maintain control, 5-3.
Both rotations encountered offensive problems in the third inning, with neither team making it far into the diamond, keeping the score unmoved.
Another scoreless inning proved to be dangerous for the Blue and White as DLSU took advantage of errors in the bottom of the fourth. With Osorio’s number of pitches climbing, the Green Batters’ JR Samuel homered for three runs, which put the Blue Eagles behind for the first time in the game, 5-6. Ateneo gave up one more run in the inning before recording two consecutive outs courtesy of the outfield, 5-7.
As the fifth inning commenced, the Blue Eagles picked up from the momentum established by Mariano’s hit, allowing Fabella to advance to second base and Odulio to third. With rhythm in play, Odulio scored from a passed ball, cutting the score deficit down to one. Following Odulio, Mariano scored from Alfy Tueres’ hit by the pitch, equalizing the Blue Eagles and the Green Batters. However, the bottom fifth inning solidified DLSU’s dominance in the fifth and witnessed the Blue Eagles bottle up a six-point deficit.
The sixth inning opened with consecutive strike out swings from Osorio and Fabella, causing the Blue Eagles a scoreless inning. In these sequences, DLSU capitalized on the defensive lapses of Ateneo–consequently increasing their advantages to an eight-point lead.
In an effort to bounce back, Mariano singled on a line drive as the seventh inning began. Shortly after the opening sequence, Magsadia walked, and Mariano impressed the pitch to tally another run for the Blue Eagles. Remaining on a steady footing, the Blue Eagles further pushed their advantages through the impressive dynamic of Ferrolino, Magsadia, and Garcia, who all contributed in the triple play of the Katipunan-based unit, 11-15.
Capitalizing on the scoreless inning of the Green Batters, the Blue Eagles entered the eighth inning determined to overtake the lead. As Tueres singled on a line drive, his strenuous feat orchestrated another run for Garcia–chipping in another run for Ateneo. However, the Taft-based squad quickly recalibrated strategies to challenge this momentum. Unable to keep up with the challenge, Ateneo fell short to DLSU’s double play in the bottom of the eighth, 12-18.
By the closing sequences, Blue Eagles Prades and Osorio continued their offensive strategy to trigger another double play. Maintaining this rhythm, Fabella scores from a Tueres’ orchestrated sacrifice fly, 15-18. Yet despite a scoreless inning for the opposition, the Blue Eagles still fell to the hands of their longstanding rivals, 15-18.
Determined to avenge this loss, the Blue Eagles seek to counter the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons on Wednesday, March 25, at 7:00 AM at the same venue.
The Lines:
Ateneo (15): 3 2 0 0 2 0 4 1 3 – 15 15 4
DLSU (18): 2 1 0 4 6 2 0 3 x – 18 16 3
Current Standings (W-L):
- NU Bulldogs (5-2)
- DLSU Green Batters (5-2)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (3-4)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (3-3)
- UST Golden Sox (2-4)
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-5)
