| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| ADU (1-1) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 2 | ||||
| UP (0-2) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
The Adamson University Soaring Falcons bounced back from a heartbreaking defeat against the National University Bulldogs last Sunday, continuing the woes of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in a 9-5 win, Wednesday afternoon at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila.
The win was Adamson’s first of the season, evening out their slate, while UP spiraled down to 0-2.
“Actually, medyo low-morale kami dahil dun sa nangyari sa NU. Kailangan namin ipanalo itong game na ito dahil mahirap pag nag two losses straight ka na,” Adamson head coach Orlando Binarao shared about the win.
However, it was not the kind of win he had wanted.
“Pero kahit nanalo kami, hindi ako kuntento e. Hindi siya convincing. Karamihan ng score kasi ng UP galing sa error so hindi ako kuntento,” the multi-time champion mentor added.
With the Soaring Falcons comfortably up 8-2 heading into the bottom end of the eighth inning, the youth of the San Marcelino-based batters showed, committing numerous mis-decisions that led to a run for UP.
Behind JJ Cinco — who went 3-of-4 at-bat for a run and 2 RBIs — the Adamson fielders struggled to close out the inning resulting to two runs. The Fighting Maroons added two hits resulting to one run in the final inning before the Soaring Falcons were able to close out the game.
Prior to Raymond Nerosa’s time on the mound, Christian Maigue (1-0) was able to hold the Fighting Maroons during the middle 5 and 1/3 innings. The sophomore only allowed two hits and two runs. His counterpart, Kenneth Marinas (0-1) was connected on eight times.
On the other end, Steven Manaig powered Adamson’s offense, going 2-of-5 and punching in three runs. Bryan Castillo, who is at the bottom of Adamson’s order, went 3-of-5 as well — all singles.
UP had six errors in the game as only three of Adamson’s runs were earned. Moreover, Adamson stranded nine UP runners.
“Sana sa susunod na games namin mas maganda hitting namin. Hindi namin inasahan yung error namin pero kaya siya dapat bawiin ng hitting,” he added.
The lack of tournaments the team had during the off-season is contributing to the struggles Adamson is experiencing, according to Binarao.
“Dalawa lang nag-graduate sa amin kaya intact pa yung team namin. Kaso kulang kami sa exposure noong off-season dahil nawala yung Chairman’s at Commissioner’s Cup. Ang naging tune-up lang namin against UST. One-time lang,” the local baseball legend rued.
Adamson though needs every momentum they can get as they face the DLSU Green Batters (2-0) on Sunday, February 12. UP, on the other hand, takes on Katipunan neighbors Ateneo (2-0) on the same day.
“Yung La Salle kayang kaya naman. Last season, sa end game lang kami nag-cocollapse. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, naka-handa yung team namin sa laro na ‘yun,” Binarao said about the match-up.
