De La Salle University leaned on two massive offensive barrages to overpower Adamson University, 14-7, and notch its fifth win in the UAAP Season 87 Baseball Tournament, Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The victory strengthened the Green Batters’ grip on second place with a 5-2 record — two games ahead of their victims, the Soaring Falcons, and the University of Santo Tomas Golden Sox, who are both at 3-4.
De La Salle now trails only the league-leading National University Bulldogs (6-1).
Trailing 3-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Green Batters erupted for six runs to seize a commanding 9-4 advantage.
The rally was sparked by solid hitting from nearly the entire batting order, led by senior second baseman JR Alcontin, who drove in two runs to extend the lead to 7-4.
Rookie Barry Oñas padded the cushion with a two-run single to right field. John Mark Tupig mishandled the ball, allowing Pio Villamiel to score on the bases-loaded play, followed by another run from Alcontin.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
The onslaught only ended when Adamson reliever Milko Go struck out Marco Flores to finally stop the bleeding.
“’Yon din ang bilin ko sa kanila — one game at a time. Importante ‘tong game na ‘to kasi ito ‘yung mga part na kukuha kami ng panalo para ma-secure namin ‘yung top four. So, ang sabi ko, walang magre-relax. Ang importante we treat each game like a championship game, so ando’n ‘yung focus at drive to win nila,” said long-time head coach Joseph Orillana.
“It was good pitching and good defense, and of course, ‘yung paluan talaga. Sabi ko kasi ‘pag game, mag-focus on line drives. Do’n kami mananalo. Kasi depensa, ‘pag malakas ang pitcher, anytime tatamaan, pero may depensa naman. Pero kailangang labanan talaga sa paluan,” he added, emphasizing how De La Salle’s offensive discipline carried them back into the game.
With the offense clicking, the pressure eased on relief pitchers Jasper Crisostomo and Yuan Sumague, who held Adamson to just two runs in the final three innings.
Crisostomo picked up the win after allowing only one run on one hit in 2.1 innings of work. Sumague closed it out with 1.2 innings of one-run, one-hit pitching to earn the save.
De La Salle now turns its focus to a crucial match-up against Ateneo de Manila University on Wednesday in the day’s final game — a clash that could determine postseason fate.
Orillana challenged his team to bring out the true character of La Salle baseball in the final stretch.
“Gusto ko paganahin nila kung paano maglaro ‘yung La Salle. For how many years, andiyan na tayo na lumalaban sa ganiyan, so ipakita niyo ‘yung pagiging beterano niyo at matilo niyo sa laro,” said the Green Batters icon.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Despite the loss, rookie James Nisnisan delivered a solid performance for Adamson with two hits in four at-bats and an RBI, while Joao Sverino added two hits and two runs.
Dan Rommel Bacalla took the loss after surrendering De La Salle’s first five runs, putting his bullpen in a tough spot early in the game.
Although Milko Go eventually managed to cool off the Batters momentarily, the additional five-run burst in the seventh proved too much for the Soaring Falcons to overcome.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdU | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 5 | ||||
| DLSU | 3 | 6 | 5 | x | 14 | 12 | 8 |
