University of Santo Tomas secured at least a playoff for a spot in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Baseball Final Four after completing a dominant performance, including a 16–8 rout of Ateneo de Manila University on Easter Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Fresh off an 8–7 escape against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in the resumed game earlier in the day, Timothy Caldo and Kevin Liwag stole the spotlight with one solo home run each, as the Golden Sox capitalized on every scoring opportunity.
UST broke the ice with five runs in the first inning and never looked back. Caldo opened the scoring with the team’s first hit of the day — a single to Ateneo shortstop Daniel Fabella. Walks to Charlie Belgar and Jesus Cabigao, combined with Ateneo errors, eventually produced the runs.
The Golden Sox added three more in the third inning on Caldo’s home run, then tacked on four more in the fifth, with hits from Cedrick Marquez and Liwag driving the offense.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Siyempre, sobrang happy yung mga bata, especially yung mga coaches. Kahit natalo sa past games, at least bumawi dito kasi pasok parin naman sa Final Four,” said Mario Cerda Jr., who coached for the second straight game due to head coach Jeffrey Santiago’s two-game suspension following physical contact with the plate umpire in their previous game against UP.
“Tsaka sobrang happy kasi talaga binigay nila yung best nila. Although may error, pero sabi ko nga, hanap pa rin ng play — it’s part of the player na magkaroon ng error. At the same time, dapat alam din natin yung pagkakamali nila kasi kung hindi, wala, di pa rin mababago yung laro sa pagkakamali na ‘yun,” he added.
The Golden Sox closed the eliminations of this tournament, also supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, with a 4–6 win-loss record, riding the momentum of back-to-back wins. They sit just behind the Adamson University Soaring Falcons (4–5) and just ahead of the Fighting Maroons (3–6).
As of publishing, Adamson and UP are still playing.
An Adamson win would send UST to the Final Four as the fourth seed, while a UP victory would create a triple tie for third to fifth place, forcing a double-playoff scenario.
Home run hitters Caldo and Liwag led UST’s offense for the day.
Senior Caldo finished with three hits and three RBIs, while rookie Liwag contributed two hits and three RBIs, including a bases-clearing single in the sixth inning.
Irvin Llave earned his second straight win after anchoring the Golden Sox’s defense for 4.2 innings before handing the mound to Kent Santillan and Eljin Mendoza.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Ateneo made a fight of it, scoring five runs in the fifth inning off UST’s continued defensive errors.
Mikaelo Osorio and Lucas Atentido drove in the hits, with Osorio plating Zane Prades for Ateneo’s first run. Four more runs followed before UST centerfielder Jesus Cabigao stopped the rally.
The Blue Eagles ended their season with a 3–7 record, going winless in the second round and suffering five straight losses.
| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ateneo | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 8 | ||||||
| UST | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | x | 16 | 8 | 6 |
