| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| UST (6-2) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 2 | |||||
| UP (0-8) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
Lesmar Ventura provided the work Jefferson Vergara provided the spark on offense, leading the University of Santo Tomas Golden Sox to their sixth straight win at the expense of the lowly University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 8-2, Sunday afternoon at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.
The win helps UST solidify their grip on the second spot, as they are now two full games ahead of the De La Salle University Green Batters and the Adamson Soaring Falcons. UP, on the other hand, are still winless in the season.
Ace pitcher Lesmar Ventura shackled the UP offense, pitching the whole game and allowing just seven hits. The fielding stranded all but two of UP’s runners.
“Di ko expected na hindi makapupuntos ang UP dahil malakas ang opensa nila,” UST head coach Jeffrey Santiago said.
However, Santiago felt that the offense had stagnated in the game, as seen in the nine UST runners that were left stranded. Moreover, half of their runs came from errors.
“Maganda ang pinukol ng pitcher natin pero sa opensa natin nag-relax sila,” the Golden Sox legend added.
Vergara picked up two RBIs in the game and scored two runs as he went 2-of-3 at bat. Ron dela Cruz added two runs a well.
With UST already up 5-0, the Fighting Maroons were able to punch in their first run of the game during the sixth inning when Ponso Balagtas brought home Karl Peralta. However, errors continued to plague UP that allowed UST to punch in two more runs in the eighth inning and another one in the last inning.
UST will next face the Adamson University Soaring Falcons on Wednesday, March 8, at 11:00am. On the other hand, the Fighting Maroons will have their second to the last chance of sending captain SJ San Juan home with a win on the same day, as they face the National University Bulldogs in the last game of the day.
