Waji Magsadia had a game to remember as Ateneo de Manila University held on for a 17-12 victory, fending off a late University of the Philippines surge to close the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Baseball first round with back-to-back wins on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
The game was originally scheduled for March 8 but was rained out.
Magsadia tallied eight RBIs on two doubles and a single, accounting for nearly half of Ateneo’s runs.
The Blue Eagles ended the first round tied for second with the De La Salle Green Batters, both holding 3-2 records. Meanwhile, National University topped the round with a perfect 5-0 mark.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“I think it was not the win that we wanted because I think we were ahead by about 12 runs, and then it went to just five runs,” said Ateneo head coach Pepe Jose, still unsatisfied after nearly letting a 16-4 lead slip away.
He went on, “So ang sabi ko sa boys, if you want to be part of those strong teams up there, kailangan maunahan natin from the start. But I think, well, UP made the rally of their own. We had errors of our own.”
Magsadia got things started for Ateneo with a double down the left-field line in the top of the second inning, bringing home Mikaelo Osorio, Alfonso Tueres, and Aleck Ferrolino to make it 3-0. He then added a single to left-center in the third inning that scored Angelo Bernardo and Ferrolino, extending the Blue Eagles’ lead to 7-0.
The game broke open in the sixth inning as Magsadia delivered a bases-clearing double during a seven-run frame.
Joshua de Juras and Osorio each added three RBIs, pushing Ateneo’s lead to 16-4. Dax Fabella and Osorio contributed three hits apiece, with Osorio also adding three RBIs, as Ateneo racked up a total of 16 hits.
“But ang maganda naman is that our bats were really talking today. We had a lot of hits. We capitalized on their errors as well. And Waji Magsadia had an amazing game — I think he had about eight RBIs today, we need more of that,” added Ateneo’s first-year chief tactician.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
The Fighting Maroons tried to rally with a run in the sixth, four in the seventh, and three in the ninth, but the 12-run deficit proved too large to overcome.
Razhley Santos led UP’s offense with three hits and three RBIs, benefiting from Ateneo’s seven errors, four of which came in the final three innings.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATENEO | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 16 | 7 | ||||
| UP | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 4 |
