ATENEO de Manila University completed a season sweep of National University in another tightly fought 5-4 win, capturing its third win of the UAAP Season 86 Baseball tournament on Thursday at the UP Diliman Baseball Field.
The Blue Eagles duplicated their first-round win with the same 5-4 score line to avoid a logjam in the lower half, instead moving into a share of third place with their victims at a 3-3 win-loss slate, behind the 4-2 of co-leaders University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle University.
“We had two heartbreaks,” said Ateneo head coach Bocc Bernardo on the missing he left the squad for the second round.
“We played well against UST and Adamson, but we didn’t come up with a win; so sabi ko na lang, we can’t dwell too much on those losses. There are a lot of games left and with all teams almost going on a tie rank, we need to toughen up and play the next game as if it’s a championship game,” continued the former Ateneo catcher.
Ateneo, who benefitted from the NU’s miscues all game long, got one run back in the eighth inning to put the game to bed at three hours and 30 minutes.
Luis Mendoza sent a hit into NU shortstop Kevin Maulit that the latter failed to collect, advancing to first base in the process.
A sacrifice hit from Luis Casanova sent Mendoza to second base before a subsequent intentional walk that was given to Matthew San Juan put runners on the bases for Joaquin Mendoza.
Joaquin Mendoza, who got dismissed in all his three previous at-bats, got his lone hit of the game to count the most as he sent his left-fielder home for the eventual winning run.
In the entire game, NU, who had seven hits scattered, gave itself a lease of life in the seventh inning with two runs off Ateneo’s defensive lapse and a hit from second baseman John Kiel Olazo.
However, that crucial error in the eighth—the squad’s fifth of the evening—doomed them to a third defeat against three victories.
Senior pitcher Joshua De Juras held the fort for the Blue Eagles in the seven and one-third innings he pitched, before rookie Gab Francisco finished the job for the Loyola-based side laced with a strikeout in the final inning.
The Lines:
Ateneo 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 – 5 3 2
NU 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 – 4 7 6
