Adamson University used a six-run fourth inning to hold off the University of Santo Tomas, 12–6, moving into solo third place with their fourth win of the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Baseball tournament on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Trailing by just one run after two innings, the Soaring Falcons’ bats came alive in the fourth. Four hits produced six runs, extending their lead to 10–3.
Kurt Cabanillas started the rally with a single to left field, and a throwing error by Irvin Llave allowed James Nisnisan to score the first run. Leonel Matanguihan followed with a two-RBI double to left-center, bringing home Cabanillas and Nisnisan.
Back-to-back hits from Kean Matanguihan and Ivan Jonson added four more runs to close the inning.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Yun nga ang sabi ko sa kanila, na sana ‘tong second round, kailangang manalo tayo sa lahat ng remaining games na ‘to para makaakyat tayo sa [standings]. Gano’n naman, nakapag-deliver rin,” said head coach Lando Binarao.
“Same as last game namin, na more ‘yung hits and at the same time, ‘yung pitcher ko nakapag-hold. Kaya, ito, medyo ok naman ang result.”
Leonel Matanguihan’s two-RBI double led Adamson’s offense, which produced 11 hits in total, with catcher Mark Simbajon contributing three.
Rookie pitcher Christian Basan held the San Marcelino side in check. He allowed only two earned runs on three hits over 5.2 innings before turning the game over to Nisnisan, who closed it out with a strikeout.
The Soaring Falcons will face a tough National University Bulldogs team, coming off back-to-back losses, in Wednesday’s second game of the tournament, which is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Binarao, however, is confident his squad can handle the challenge if they maintain their current form.
“Same lang rin naman ‘yung gusto kong mangyari. Sabi ko nga, itong second round, kung ganyan ang ilalaro natin sa NU, mananalo tayo sa NU. Wala namang imposible do’n kung ganito naman magiging performance nila,” added the concurrent national team head coach.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
UST once again finished with double-digit hits, led by Cedrick Marquez, who had three hits and two RBIs. The España-based squad, however, committed seven errors.
The Golden Sox slipped to a 2–5 record, sharing fifth and sixth places with the University of the Philippines.
UST will face De La Salle University in the final game of Wednesday’s tripleheader.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdU | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| UST | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 7 |
