De La Salle University relied on a strong, explosive start to finish off University of the Philippines in just seven innings, 11–0, to hold onto second place in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Baseball, Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
After suffering a 4–14 loss to the NU Bulldogs just a week ago, the Green Batters came out firing, scoring five runs in the opening inning to set the tone for the rout.
Captain Tuting Samuel kicked off his impressive performance with his first hit of the game, a double that put Barry Oñas in scoring position.
Errors by Jhon Musa and John Mark Natawan allowed La Salle to get on the board before Liam De Vera delivered a two-RBI double to extend the lead to three.
Another miscue — a passed ball on Pio Villamiel — along with two more hits from Villamiel and Yuan Sumague, completed the five-run rally for the Green Batters.
The lead doubled in the third inning, and the Green Batters added another run in the fifth for the final score.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Samuel drove in three hits in four at-bats to lead La Salle’s 13-hit output, a performance head coach Joseph Orillana had been waiting for since the start of the season.
“Ang instruction, ang game plan, is mag-start kami ng strong this second round, which is lumabas ‘yung paluan na hinahanap ko. ‘Yung kailangan ma-sustain namin ‘yung mainit na paluan para maka-score ng maraming runs at the start pa lang ng inning. Kasi, every game is a must-win,” said Orillana.
The Green Batters remained in provisional second place with a 4–2 win-loss record, just one game behind league-leading NU at 5–1 in the tournament, which is in partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission.
“Ang ano lang is, ito nga’t lumabas nitong first game namin sa second round. Ang sabi nga lang, ituluy-tuloy ‘yung kumpyansa. Tapos well-motivated sila,” added Orillana, a De La Salle legend.
“Credits talaga sa lahat ng players ko. Lahat ng mangyayari sa second round na ‘yan, it depends sa will to win niyo. Kumbaga, kung ano ‘yung effort niyo diyan, ‘yun ‘yung result na makukuha niyo.”
De Vera contributed one hit and three RBIs, while Villamiel also added two hits and three RBIs. De Vera earned the win as he pitched a complete-game shutout, limiting UP to just four hits.
La Salle will face archrival Ateneo de Manila University in Sunday’s second game in a high-stakes encounter for the race to the Final Four.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
LM Basañes accounted for two of UP’s four hits, but the two errors in the first inning proved too costly, allowing La Salle to rack up multiple runs.
The Fighting Maroons slipped to a 1–5 record and remain in sixth place.
UP will aim to stop a three-game skid against NU, which suffered its first loss of the season, in Sunday’s opening game at 7:00 AM.
| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UP | x | x | 4 | 5 | ||||||||
| DLSU | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | x | x | x | 11 | 13 | 5 |
