University of the Philippines made a strong statement in its UAAP Season 87 Baseball tournament opener, overpowering last season’s runner-up De La Salle University, 15-6, Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The Fighting Maroons are off a heartbreaking end to Season 86, where they finished just outside the Final Four after losing a playoff to University of Santo Tomas.
This year, they feel determined to go further.
UP entered the season under new leadership, with Iking Jimenez taking over as head coach after the departure of long-time mentor Anthony Dizer during the off-season.
The team found its rhythm in the fourth inning, launching an explosive offensive run against Green Batters’ starter Lord Aragorn De Vera.
Reigning MVP and Best Hitter Ian Mercado ignited the rally, leading UP to string together nine hits and score eight runs in the inning.
“Itong team medyo may mga rusty pa na mga innings and saka lang sila nagko-contact. Na-overcome naman nila ‘yon pero kailangan pa naming i-work out ‘yung hitting, kung kailan sila papalo. Meron nga kaming big inning kung saan kami lumamang ng maganda pero marami pang kailangang adjustments,” said Jimenez.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
UP had to make an early adjustment when starting pitcher Daniel Badrina struggled with errors in the second inning, allowing La Salle to jump to a 3-0 lead.
National team member Kobe Torres took over on the mound, sacrificing his designated hitter spot to steady UP’s defense.
The third-year standout from the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities held the Green Batters scoreless for four innings before conceding three runs in the final three frames.
Torres finished with one hit and two runs on offense while allowing three runs off six hits in 7.2 innings pitched.
Team captain Mercado picked up right where he left off in the past two seasons, delivering a 3-for-5 hitting performance to lead UP’s charge.
Meanwhile, last season’s Rookie of the Year, Aaron Gabriel Nicha, added two hits to UP’s total of 16 — including a massive triple in the eighth inning that came close to being the season’s first home run.
UP (1-0) will next face defending champion National University (1-0) on Sunday at 7:00 AM at the same venue.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
La Salle briefly found momentum in the second inning, capitalizing on Badrina’s errors. Hits from Yuan Sumague and Miguel Agoncillo helped the Green Batters establish an early 3-0 cushion, but they struggled against Torres’ command on the mound.
Marco Flores tried to spark a comeback with a 3-for-4 batting performance, but his teammates couldn’t provide the necessary support to mount a serious rally.
La Salle (0-1) will attempt to bounce back when they take on archrival Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DLSU | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | ||||||
| UP | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | x | 15 | 16 | 1 |
