THE ATENEO Baseball Team (ABT) secured their third University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 victory after rattling the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 17-12. The Katipunan derby took place earlier today, March 15, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in the City of Manila.
The 3-2 win-loss record keeps the Blue and White at the third seed of the tournament’s overall team standings.
As the first inning opened, the Blue Eagles struggled against UP’s stellar defense, with Waji Magsadia and Dax Fabella consecutively batting out ground balls in the opening sequences. Consequently, Zane Prades was awarded first base after drawing a walk from UP’s pitcher, who threw four balls outside the strike zone. Following Prades, Juan Odulio hit a pop-up in foul territory near first base, calling the Blue Eagle out to close the first inning.
In the second inning, Joaquin Mariano threw out a foul tip as the Fighting Maroons pitched to the Blue Eagles. To maintain the Blue Eagles’ momentum, Mickey Osorio hit a ground ball toward the shortstop–causing the Fighting Maroons to commit a fielding error in their attempt to make the play. The succeeding sequences saw Ateneo’s Osorio, Angelo Bernardo, and Kristian Ferrolino score on multiple runs, 3-0.
To welcome the third inning, Prades batted to first base on a line drive to continue challenging the Fighting Maroons’ defensive units. Flowing with this rhythm, Osorio singled on a hard ground ball, causing Prades to score and Mariano to advance to second base. Further extending Ateneo’s lead, Mariano tallied another point from Ferrolino’s movement at the home plate. Adding to their advantages, the Blue Eagles solidified their mark in the top of the third after Osorio and Bernardo scored to a 7-0 advantage.
The fourth inning saw the Blue Eagles continue their dominant outings, starting with Fabella’s single line drive to advance to second base. Shortly after the opening sequence, Osorio singled on a line drive, tallying a point for Prades and pushing Mariano to second base, 8-2. As the Blue Eagles remained on steady footing, the impressive dynamic of Alfy Tueres, Osorio, and Bernardo orchestrated another point for Mariano to close the mid-inning, 9-2.
Coming from UP’s double play in the bottom of the fourth, 4-10, Blue Eagles Magsadia, Fabella, and Prades retired and fell short to score a run as they entered the fifth inning. Despite trailing behind, the Blue Eagles maintained a solid advantage as the opposition failed to shift the momentum to their side. The fifth inning closed without both teams scoring from a play.
Eager to create separation from their Katipunan counterparts, the Blue Eagles displayed one of their most explosive performances of the season at the top of the sixth inning. Osorio first delivered a single to assist Joshua De Juras with a run, 10-4. The rookie then returned home off an RBI from Alfonso Tueres, 11-4. Remaining aggressive, Magsadia batted in Mariano and Ferrolino on a double, 13-4. Capping off their offensive onslaught, Magsadia, Fabella, and Prades logged three more points to establish a double-digit advantage, 16-4.
Despite UP notching a run at the bottom of the inning, 5-16, Ateneo’s basemen prevented the Diliman-based unit from gaining momentum with their quick tags to tally three outs.
Unable to replicate their offensive production in the seventh inning, Magsadia’s flyout marked a scoreless top for Ateneo. Meanwhile, their mishaps began to pile up on the defensive end, enabling UP to close the gap, 16-9.
Responding immediately, Fabella swung a triple at the onset of the eighth inning to place himself near home base. Prades then launched a powerful bat to reward Fabella with the run, 17-9. Although no longer scoring, the Blue Eagles held off the Fighting Maroons from doing the same after catching three pop outs.
The final inning proved to be another error-plagued top for Ateneo after their offense was halted by the UP outfielders. With the door for a comeback left open, UP got to home base courtesy of a double, followed by two more runs off Osorio’s shortstop error, 12-17.
While Osorio’s mistake left a runner at third base, two fly outs and a pop out from the Fighting Maroons ended UP’s late-game surge, rewarding Ateneo with the victory.
Following this win, the ABT will look to strengthen their Final Four bid in the second round of eliminations, with the schedule of games yet to be announced as of writing.
The Lines:
Ateneo (17): 0 3 4 2 0 7 0 1 0 – 17 16 7
UP (12): 0 0 2 2 0 1 4 0 3 – 12 7 4
Current Standings (W-L):
- NU Bulldogs (5-0)
- DLSU Green Batters (3-2)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (3-2)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (2-2)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-3)
- UST Golden Sox (1-3)
