Coming off a disastrous defeat, PAREF Southridge bounced back in spectacular fashion, pulling off a 13-11 upset over defending champion University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP Season 88 High School Baseball Tournament on Saturday.
The Admirals recovered from their crushing 27-6, six-inning loss to National University Nazareth School last Wednesday, also at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Coliseum, to finish the first round with an even 2-2 record, currently sitting in solo third place.
Southridge built a commanding 9-0 lead after the fourth inning, but the once-unbeaten UST squad refused to fold easily.
The Junior Golden Sox rallied with 11 runs across the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to tie the game at 11, following Southridge’s two-run effort in the bottom of the fifth.
However, the Admirals showed resilience after what looked like a meltdown. Luis Chavez gave Southridge the lead in the bottom of the eighth, doubling down the left-field line, stealing third, and then scoring on a wild pitch.
Yano Antonio, stationed at third, extended the lead to 13-11 with a successful double steal alongside Mio Borja, who advanced from first to second.
Southridge closer JC Basañes then shut down UST in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and two outs. With a 1-1 count, Basañes struck out Van Ibabao in the next two pitches to leave the bases full and secure the gutsy victory.
“Number one, dapat hindi kami ganito manalo. We came from two sorry losses — we lost via mercy rule twice, so I told the boys that we’re forgetting to have fun and always remember kung sino kayo. You were the Palarong Pambansa champions two to three years ago,” said Admirals head coach Bocc Bernardo.
Aside from keeping the Junior Golden Sox scoreless in the final 2⅓ innings, Basañes also contributed two hits, including a double.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
In the other game, National University Nazareth School overcame an error-prone Ateneo de Manila University, 9-4, for its second straight victory.
Trailing 0-4, the Blue Eagles cut the deficit in the top of the seventh inning with a two-run effort. A sacrifice fly by Tommy Oblea and an RBI single by Miguel Cruzat scored Janko Sevilla and Raffy Blaza, respectively, bringing Ateneo to 2-4.
But the Bullpups responded immediately in the bottom half, scoring five runs to widen the lead to 9-2. John Plaza, Orlando Cedillo, and Justin Lauriquez crossed the plate off hits by Lauriquez and Jericho Catchero, as well as a sacrifice hit by Chester Mateo.
Ateneo’s errors also played a role, with three miscues allowing Catchero and John Adriano to score, extending NUNS’ lead to 9-2.
“We’ll just keep improving lang every game. Alam namin marami pa kaming kailangang i-improve sa team kaya hindi kami titigil,” said head coach Romar Landicho, as NUNS tied UST atop the standings at 2-1 with its second straight win.
Lauriquez led the Bullpups’ offense with two hits, an RBI, and two stolen bases, while winning pitcher Vhins Adanza tossed six innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run.
Sancho Afuang and Raffy Blaza recorded two hits apiece for the Blue Eagles, who slipped to 1-2.
First Game:
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ateneo | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | |||||||
| NUNS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | x | 9 | 8 | 2 |
Second Game:
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UST | 3 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 3 | ||||||
| SRG | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | x | 13 | 11 | 4 |
