A breather for the Golden Sox
| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| NU (1-2) | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 2 | |||||||
| UST (1-2) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | X | 11 | 13 | 5 |
After being punished by the top two contenders of the league in their first two games, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Sox picked up its breakthrough win at the expense of the skidding National University Bulldogs, 11-6, Sunday afternoon at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
“Oo, na-break na namin yung streak namin. Kailangan na kailangan talaga namin ito,” said UST head coach Jeffrey Santiago. “Mabuti nag-deliver yung ating mga palo.”
The Golden Sox picked up their season-high 13 hits in the game, two coming in the first two innings of the game highlighted by a 2 RBI single courtesy of Kristian Angeles against NU ace Clairon Santos (0-1) that gave UST a 3-0 edge. Angeles finished the game with 3 RBI’s, going 2-of-3 at-bat.
Alfredo de Guzman led NU’s comeback in the third inning, driving in two runners in a three-run rally to knot the game. However, a booming triple to left field by UST senior Jayrome Kimilat in the next inning capped a three-run rally to give UST the lead for good.
Marlon Gonzales went a perfect 2-of-2 at-bat, both doubles in the latter innings to further extend UST’s cushion. Ron dela Cruz went 3-of-4 as well, all singles, before serving as the team’s closer, striking out five batters in the last three innings of the game to buck a late-NU hijack attempt.
“Maganda rin ang ginawa ng ating reliever na si Ron dela Cruz. Tsaka si Gonzalez, nag-connect ng dalawang beses,” Santiago, a UST legend himself, remarked.
However, UST committed three errors during the sixth inning that helped NU gain three runs, drawing the ire of Santiago.
“Kaso marami paring kulang. Kulang pa rin sa puso,” the veteran mentor added.
Robin Libid and Junmar Diarao picked up an RBI each in the loss.
The Golden Sox look to make it two in a row when they face the UP Fighting Maroons on Wednesday, February 13.
“Sana tuloy-tuloy. Basta ang momentum tuloy-tuloy lang, yung kanilang concentration hindi magbabago. Maganda kasi yung pitching rotation natin, puso lang ang kailangan,” hoped Santiago.
The Bulldogs, on the other hand, look to end the skid they are in when they face the DLSU Green Batters on the same day. Last season, NU was 2-0 against the eventual-champions.
