| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| UST (4-2) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | |||||||
| NU (2-4) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
The second-running University of Santo Tomas Golden Sox needed time to heat up, but did so in the nick of time to take a 4-3 come-from-behind win against the spiraling National University Bulldogs, Sunday morning at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.
This is the Golden Sox’s fourth win in a row, allowing them to keep pace with the De La Salle University Green Batters. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, stay at fifth place with a 2-4 slate.
Ron dela Cruz led UST’s comeback on both ends. On offense, he went 2-of-4 at bat, scoring two runs in the clutch while bringing home Kristian Angeles in the ninth inning for the tying run. A double by Kirk Daquiz during the same inning brought home dela Cruz for the winning run.
UST head coach Jeffrey Santiago noted that their stagnant offense was due to the batters from España arriving late for warm-ups.
“Medyo malamig ang kanilang opensa dahil kulang kami ng warm-up gawa ng late sila dumating,” Santiago lamented. “Actually ang usapan namin, call time namin dito 5:30. Dumating sila past 6 na. Gawa ng yung gamit ata naiwan kaya hindi kami nakapag-warm-up ng maayos. Kaya cool, malamig ang kanilang bat.”
The Golden Sox struggled to connect on NU ace Clarence Caasalan during the first seven innings of the game, connecting just once. On the other end, an error by third baseman Jefferson Vergara during the third inning led to Floro Malit making the breakthrough run.
Caasalan was able to give NU a 2-0 lead during the fifth inning while another error by the Golden Sox during the eighth inning gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead heading into the final inning.
“Eto lumabas naman nung huli at napagod yung una nilang pitcher. Nagkumpiyansa naman yung mga bata, kailangan higpitan uli,” Santiago added.
Dela Cruz, who pitched the last two innings of the game, was able to survive the last inning, punctuating the game with a strikeout of Alfredo de Guzman.
The Golden Sox look to extend their streak to five when they face the DLSU Green Batters on Wednesday, March 1, at 2:00pm. On the other hand, the Bulldogs look to end their skid when they face the league-leading Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles on the same day at 10am.
