NATIONAL University ended years of waiting with a resounding 10-0 victory in just eight innings over University of Santo Tomas, securing its ticket to the Final Four of the UAAP Season 86 Baseball Tournament on Sunday at the UP Baseball Field.
The Bulldogs last appeared in the postseason when they emerged victorious in Season 74, coincidentally the last season to feature the Final Four format in UAAP baseball.
With this result, NU and De La Salle University share the top spot with identical 6-3 win-loss records, just ahead of Ateneo de Manila University’s 5-4 standing.
“Pasalamat rin ako sa boys, sa mga coaches ko, at sa management na talagang inattain namin magkaroon ng goal, which is pumasok muna sa Final Four; at nakuha naman namin,” said first-year head coach Romar Landicho.
True to form, the Bulldogs dominated the game with their strong defense.
In a performance reminiscent of their first-round encounter, Amiel De Guzman held the Golden Sox at bay with a stellar no-relief effort, conceding only a hit each to reigning MVP Justine Rosales in the first inning, John Reymond Vargas in the sixth, and Mark Joseph Cabase in the eighth.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs unleashed a potent offensive surge in the fourth inning, scoring five runs off four hits, ignited by Nigel Paule’s triple to right-centerfield.
Errors compounded UST’s woes, turning a slim 3-0 lead into a commanding 8-0 advantage with innings still to play.
The Golden Sox suffered their third consecutive loss, conceding double-digit runs in the same span, and slipped to fourth place with a 4-5 record, just ahead of University of the Philippines’ 3-5 standing.
The Lines:
NU 2 1 0 5 1 0 0 1 x – 10 8 0
UST 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 x – 0 3 6
