A NIGHTMARE case of deja vu seemed to linger at Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium, as a similar late game collapse from the Ateneo Blue Eagles almost provided their second loss of the tournament at the hands of the same opponent. The Ateneo blue batters, however, rewrote the script, fending off the Adamson University Soaring Falcons with a 6-5 win in the second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Baseball tournament on Sunday, March 10.

The first round saw the Blue Eagles cough up a 6-1 lead late in the game to fall to Adamson. In this match, the boys in blue built the same 6-1 advantage but had enough in the tank to take down the Soaring Falcons, with a spark off the mound from Nacho Lozano.

After a fielder’s choice taking down leadoff Marco Mallari and two flyouts from Javi Macasaet and Gino Tantuico opening the game, both teams started off quietly with Adamson flying out to right field thrice in a row.

Ateneo drew first blood as four walks brought home Dino Altomonte. Mallari then turned on the jets with a hot grounder, which sent Fausto Eizmendi home. Radito Banzon’s sacrifice fly then granted Miguel Habana a road home and Ateneo a 3-0 lead.

The scoring picked up in the next inning with Javi Macasaet dashing for home plate, courtesy of Eizmendi’s grounder to outfield. AdU would retaliate, capitalizing on an overthrow from Altomonte to second. This brought Erwin Bosito from first to home for the Soaring Falcons’ first point, 4-1. Reliable pitching from Paulo Macasaet kept Adamson at bay for most of the game.

At the top of the sixth, Ateneo was gifted more runs. Successive hits from Javi Macasaet and Banzon, and walks on Tantuico, Gio Salvatierra, and Altomonte, led to a 6-1 lead for Ateneo.

The defending champions would not go down so easily. Gerald Riparip notched a single and was followed up by a homerun beauty by Mark Steven Manaig. In the following inning, Jhon Daryl Montealto was hit by pitch while Manaig was intentionally walked. This set the stage for Kyle Rodrigo Villafaña, who bombed a deep triple to bring home Montealto and Manaig. This cut Ateneo’s lead to one, 6-5, ending the seventh inning.

Following an empty Ateneo side, and another single and a mis-catch in foul territory, Coach Randy Dizer made a climactic decision, relieving star pitcher Paulo Macasaet and slotting in Nacho Lozano. The veteran stepped up and did damage immediately with a crucial strikeout which ended the eighth inning. Ateneo could not bolster their lead, with another empty inning at the top of the ninth, and had to rely on their defense to take them home.

After a Bosito flyout, the cool-headed Lozano struck out Riparip, but the third strike was dropped, giving Altomonte the throw out to Salvatierra at first. With one last out to earn, a grounder to Andaya and a fielder’s choice throw to second took the runner out, taking home the win for Ateneo.

Looking ahead, the Blue Eagles will square off with the National University Bulldogs at 7:00 AM, Wednesday, March 13 at the Rizal Stadium. A win on this matchup would result in a near-guaranteed slot in the finals.