NATIONAL University advanced to a third straight UAAP Collegiate Men’s Baseball Final Four, defeating Adamson University, 10–4, and snapping a two-game skid on Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The reigning back-to-back champions secured a postseason berth and inched closer to a dream three-peat with the win, erasing the sting of recent defeats to the University of Santo Tomas, 5–4, and the University of the Philippines, 4–3.
This time, NU leaned on a more potent offensive performance.
A precarious one-run Bulldogs’ lead after two innings quickly grew into a five-run cushion over the next two frames. Four straight hits produced three runs in the fourth inning, followed by another run in the fifth.
The top of the order sparked the rally, with singles from Kiel Olazo and Jherick Timban driving in runs after being plated by a hit from Julius Cesar Soriano. A sacrifice fly from Charles Chua later brought in Kenneth Maulit, who had earlier recorded a hit to right field.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Down talaga kami nung dalawang losses na ‘yon. Pero, kumbaga, sabi nga ng iba, champions always rise in adversity. Alam naman namin kung pa’no bumangon, at pinatunayan naman namin na kayang bumounce back kahit low morale na ‘yung team. I’m thankful rin sa mga bata dahil ginawa nila ‘yung trabaho nila,” said head coach Romar Landicho.
NU’s lead widened at the top of the fifth inning. Olazo and Timban drove in their second hits of the contest, followed by a massive triple from Bryan Lagumbay that scored two more runs, giving the Bulldogs a 10–0 lead that they maintained until the final pitch.
“Yun ‘yung naging focus namin sa training, batting talaga. Kasi defense namin, OK pa rin naman. So, ‘yun ang naging focus namin. Inayos namin ang lahat. Happy kami na lumabas ulit ‘yung mga palo nila,” added the third-year coach, whose squad finished with 10 hits.
Hilario Espina III bounced back in a big way, allowing just two earned runs off nine hits. Kenneth Maulit took over for the final two innings, holding Adamson to one more earned run in the ninth.
NU remained atop the standings with a 6–2 record, a game ahead of De La Salle University (5–2), which was facing the University of Santo Tomas as of this writing.
With a Final Four seat secured, the Bulldogs will now aim for the twice-to-beat advantage when they face the Ateneo Blue Eagles (3–5) in Sunday’s second game.
“Getting this win against Adamson ay malaking morale boost sa ‘min ‘to. We’re back do’n sa track namin na gusto naming marating — ‘yun ngang three-peat. And marami pang trabaho, and alam naman ng mga bata na kailangan pa naming pumukpok do’n sa mga susunod na laro,” Landicho shared.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Adamson made a fight of it by scoring three runs to prevent an early finish. Kurt Cabanillas opened the rally with a single to shortstop, later scoring on a James Nisnisan drive to right-center. Zerge Madarimot and Nisnisan added two more runs, but the Bulldogs held them scoreless for the next three innings.
Three Adamson pitchers attempted to slow down NU, but five errors at critical moments proved costly.
Adamson will look to return to winning form against DLSU in Sunday’s opener at 7 a.m., also at Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NU | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 3 | |||||
| AdU | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 5 |
