JR Alcontin hammered a grand slam home run in the final inning to power De La Salle University to its second straight win in the UAAP Season 87 Baseball tournament, defeating Adamson University 14-6 on Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The Green Batters surged to solo second place with a 2-1 win-loss record, trailing only National University’s perfect 3-0 slate. The Season 85 champions broke the game wide open in the last two innings, scoring seven runs in the final frame — four of which came from Alcontin’s clutch homer.
Alcontin, a product of the College of Technological Science-Cebu, crushed the ball to deep left-center field and over the ledge, capitalizing on Adamson’s newly inserted pitcher, James Nisnisan, who replaced Dan Bacalla.
Bacalla had earlier issued two walks to JR Samuel and Miguel Agoncillo and surrendered a hit to Liam De Vera, loading the bases for De La Salle. This prompted Adamson head coach Lando Binarao to send in rookie Nisnisan to take the mound.
Alcontin seized the moment, smashing Nisnisan’s early pitches to effectively put the game out of reach.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“Well, ang gusto ko lang naman sa kanila ay maibalik ‘yung kumpiyansa nila kasi nakikita ko sa practice kung gaano kainit ‘yung paluan nila. Nagagawa naman nila ‘yung mga training drills namin,” said De La Salle head coach Joseph Orillana.
“So ang sabi ko, ‘yung kumpiyansa na lang, kasi do’n sila nagkukulang — ‘yung tiwala sa sarili. Gusto ko maibigay nila ‘yon sa game, mailabas nila ‘yon sa game.
“Once na mailabas nila ‘yan, kasi momentum is alam nila na kayang-kaya nila ‘yan sa game,” the Green Batter great added.
And confidence-building it was, as De La Salle tallied 14 hits, with Alcontin recording two hits and four RBIs. Their defensive performance was equally impressive, executing six double plays that limited Adamson to six runs in nine innings.
Rookie Liam De Vera contributed three hits in five at-bats, while fellow freshman Barry Oñas added two hits.
That defensive stability also helped Yuan Sumague earn a winning debut start, holding Adamson to three earned runs on nine hits before handing over the mound duties to Oñas and De Vera.
The Green Batters will look to extend their winning streak to three when they face the University of Santo Tomas Golden Sox on Sunday at 7:00 AM, the first of a tripleheader.
Meanwhile, Adamson is now in a four-way tie for third to sixth place alongside UST, University of the Philippines, and Ateneo de Manila University with identical 1-2 records.
The team fought fought valiantly before unraveling in the ninth inning.
Nisnisan and John Leonel Matanguihan led the Soaring Falcons’ offense with two hits each.
Adamson will aim to bounce back when they take on the UP Fighting Maroons in Sunday’s final game, following the NU-Ateneo clash.
