Guaranteed a spot in the championship match of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Baseball tournament, the Ateneo Blue Eagles concluded their regular season with a duel against the second-ranked Golden Sox of host school University of Sto. Tomas (UST) on Sunday, March 12 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
The second-round finale saw UST capitalize on errors to power past Ateneo at (9-4), as the league’s frontrunners for the second finals berth tied the Blue Eagles record in what turned into a preview of Season 79’s championship battle.
Progress was slow and runs were scarce on the diamond early on in the game, with neither team able to make the most of scoring opportunities to get on the board. Starting pitcher Paulo Macasaet managed to hold UST scoreless in his three innings pitched, while an equally confident Golden Sox defense kept the scoreboard blank from the field, locking the match at a tense stalemate until the bottom of a game-changing and crucial fourth inning.
Facing substitute pitcher Nacho Lozano, UST sparked a rally from the plate, making the most of errors from the Ateneo infield to gain an invaluable five-run lead. Designated hitter Daquis opened the floodgates and lit the flame, managing to reach second base with a hot grounder that forced an error from third baseman Javi Macasaet. Wild pitches from Lozano would prove to be the Blue Eagles’ downfall, as an unprotected plate provided Daquis with a window to steal third base and eventually sneak home to draw first blood for the Golden Sox.
Daquis’ trip around the bases gave the UST bench a breath of life, leading the team to terrorize the Blue Eagles’ defense with a barrage of hits that significantly extended the deficit. Gonzales followed immediately with a screamer into left-field that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, advancing to second base off a sacrifice fly from Lallana into right-center. Shortstop Kimilat then connected for a grounder to third and forced a fresh wave of errors from the Ateneo infield to land on second, setting the stage for a big play from the succeeding batters.
Shortstop Pedracio kept the ball rolling with a sharp drive over second base and into centerfield, sending Gonzales home to put UST up another run, while another wild pitch from Lozano left home base open for Kimilat to widen the gap to 3-0. A return to the top of the batting order was a timely thorn in the Blue Eagles side, as UST leadoff Valencia made contact at the plate for a single that gave Pedracio the green light, bringing the score to (4-0).
Determined to counter the onslaught of runs, coach Randy Dizer made a few key switches on the infield, subbing in Gio Salvatierra for Javi Macasaet at third base and retiring Lozano on the mound for rookie Miggy Angeles. A mishap between relief pitcher and catcher would then be the final run of the fourth inning, after a wild throw from Angeles left the plate unprotected and allowed UST’s Dela Cruz to haul in a fifth run at 5-0.
Having dug their own grave with carelessness on the field, Ateneo sought to turn the tables and regain the advantage just half an inning later, working their way to shorten the five-run lead. The top of the fifth opened with consecutive singles from Marquis Alindogan and Dino Altomonte, which provided offensive threats as substitute outfielder Rapho Balagtas stepped up for his first at bat. Coming in for usual leadoff Radito Banzon, Balagtas connected for a solid drive to third base, forcing an error on the throw to first base that allowed Alindogan to make it home for the Blue Eagles’ first point at (5-1).
Centerfielder Marco Mallari then stepped up to the plate with two runners on base and made an instant impact, swatting a base hit past the infield to send home Balagtas and force UST’s first pitcher change, as the Blue Eagles tallied another run at 5-2. Relief pitcher Ventura, however, drove the Golden Sox into an unfavorable predicament as Salvatierra, Ryan Hilario, and Renzo Ramos loaded the bases in Ateneo’s first major chance at taking the lead. Tantuico, however, failed to deliver, as he notched a slow grounder to first that retired the Ateneo side with only two runs scored.
Looking confident against the tournament’s top dogs, the Golden Sox pulled away at the bottom of the sixth for their biggest lead all game. Substitute Pagkaliwagan claimed responsibility for the first run of the inning, nabbing a grounder past first base that trickled into the outfield and sent Valencia home to make it a 6-2 game. With Vergara and Pagkaliwagan running on first and second, UST’s Calbang sent a weak bounce back to Angeles, but an erstwhile throw from pitcher to first baseman flew past the infield and allowed two more runs to make it in for the Golden Sox at 8-2.
Still in it to win it, the Blue Eagles attempted one last shot at saving the game, led by heroics from Dan Laurel and Altomonte. Nabbing two hits in three at-bats, rookie shortstop Dan Laurel opened the top of the eighth with a solid single to rightfield to add much needed firepower for a lackluster Ateneo offense. Altomonte then nailed the kill, blasting a deep shot over the leftfield wall for the first homerun of his UAAP career to bring the score to 8-4. The Golden Sox then took the game in the final innings, with Dela Cruz stealing another run off a final infield error to end the match at 9-4 and book UST a ticket to the championships.
The Blue Eagles end the second-round at a 7-3 win-loss record, sharing the top seed with UST, who have a final regular season game against Adamson University (AdU) to bump their record to 8-2 before Game 1 of the finals series on Tuesday, March 21.
The second-round finale saw UST capitalize on errors to power past Ateneo at (9-4),as the league’s frontrunners for the second finals berth tied the Blue Eagles record in what turned into a preview of Season 79’s championship battle.
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