Chester Mateo stood tall in a pitcher’s duel as National University Nazareth School outlasted University of Santo Tomas, 4-3, to claim the top spot in the UAAP Season 88 High School Baseball Tournament on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old right-handed pitcher from Palawan delivered a no-relief masterpiece, allowing just four hits and three runs against the erstwhile leader Junior Golden Sox at Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Mateo also struck out six UST batters, helping NUNS improve to a 4-2 record.
“Exceptional talaga si Mateo. Surprisingly, kinaya niya buong laro. Actually, this is the first time na makita ko siyang ganyan mag-perform. Sana magtuloy-tuloy,” said Bullpups head coach Romar Landicho.
With the score tied at 2 heading into the top of the eighth inning, NUNS seized the lead thanks to two costly errors by UST.
Catcher Lance Bonifacio overthrew second base while trying to tag out the stealing Justin Lauriquez, allowing Lauriquez to advance to third. Lauriquez then scored on a catching error by UST first baseman Nash Ortiz, giving NUNS a 3-2 lead, which they extended to 4-2 in the top of the ninth.
UST tried to force extras in the bottom of the ninth, putting Joshua Ibabao and Jacky Lobos on base with one out.
Marcus Dela Cerna grounded out to shortstop, but Lobos attempted to score and forced Bullpups first baseman Kyle Montallana into an errant throw home.
Lobos crossed the plate, while Ibabao was initially safe but then brought back to third after an interference call on UST.
With the tying run at third, Leshem Dawilan hit a grounder to Jericho Catchero, who bobbled the pick-up but recovered to throw to first in time to secure NUNS’ thrilling victory.
Mateo’s heroics weren’t limited to the mound, as he also went 2-for-3 with a triple. Meanwhile, Justin Lauriquez led the offense with three hits and a stolen base.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
In the other game, PAREF Southridge erased an early four-run deficit to defeat Ateneo de Manila University, 19-7, in eight innings.
The Admirals improved to 3-3 and remain in contention for a Finals berth, just half a game behind UST and idle De La Salle-Zobel.
After allowing Ateneo to jump to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and remaining scoreless through two frames, Southridge’s bats erupted.
The Admirals scored four in the third, three each in the fourth and fifth, and five in the sixth to build a commanding 15-5 lead.
Although Ateneo added two runs, Southridge responded with four more in the eighth before the mercy rule ended the contest.
“Although we started slow, I woke them up, made some adjustments, and the team responded. Itong next three games namin, we are treating it as championship games to stay alive,” said Southridge head coach Bocc Bernardo.
Catcher Sandro Villarosa led the charge with four hits and two RBIs, while Luis Chavez went 3-for-3 with four RBIs.
Leadoff batter JC Basañes added three hits and three stolen bases, and Yano Antonio drove in five runs on two hits.
First Game:
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NUNS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| UST | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Second Game:
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRG | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | x | 19 | 19 | 4 |
| Ateneo | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | x | 7 | 11 | 1 |
