| SCOREBOARD |
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| AdU (0-3) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| DLSU (2-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | – | 7 | 9 | 3 |
The De La Salle Green Batters had a reversal of fortune from their loss to the NU Bulldogs last Thursday in overcoming an early 6-0 deficit to defeat the Adamson Soaring Falcons 7-6 last Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
The DLSU Green Batters are gaining the habit of having slow starts.
Rookie DLSU pitcher Francis Gesmundo immediately gave up a base hit right off the bat with a single by Manuel Navasero. A Nelson Salazar single led to a Navasero score to put Adamson on the scoreboard. Then, in the 2nd inning, Eric Gesmundo, Kenneth Badrina, and Erwin Bosito gained home plate to give Adamson a 4-0 lead.
Lourence Ruiz gave up no runs and just a single hit in the six innings he pitched for Adamson. However, Ruiz was subbed out in the 6th inning for 4th year player Melvin Rosita.
At the top of the 7th inning, Nelson Salazar and Melvin Rosita scored runs to further extend the Adamson lead to 6-0. Fielding errors led to the scores of both batters. But when it was time for the Green Batters to bat, the batters of DLSU had Rosita read like a book. Paolo Salud and Francisco Hashimoto both scored from a double RBI by Francis Gesmundo. Then, Carlos Laurel scored another run to cut Adamson’s lead in half. Another double RBI, this time coming from Fernando Imperial led to runs by Gesmundo and Carlos Muñoz. A single RBI by Vicente Barandiaran then paved the way for Imperial to gain home base to tie the game.
With the game tied at 6-all in the 8th inning, Laurel was tasked to be the team’s closing pitcher. Laurel gave up no hits in the game’s last two innings, including two strikeouts in the 8th.
Adamson’s Rosita was subbed out for rookie Marvin Camposanto. Camposanto walked Muñoz with two outs. A single by Imperial moved Muñoz to 2nd base. Then, a single deep into center field by rookie Barandiaran gave Muñoz a run, which turned out to be the game-winning run for DLSU.
Adamson head coach Orlando Binarao was clearly frustrated after the game. “Nung lamang kami, parang kami pa ang behind base sa laro ng mga bata,” the frustrated coach told us.
Barandiara was superb for the DLSU Green Batters with his 3 hits and 2 RBI’s. Muñoz had a run, 1 hit, and 2 RBI’s in the comeback effort.
The 2-1 DLSU Green Batters will next play the also 2-1 UST Golden Sox while the Adamson Soaring Falcons will face the 0-3 UP Fighting Maroons. Both games are on Thursday, February 5 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
