Unibikers rout Patriots,  force playoff for semis

Dumaguete flattened Forward Taguig with a barrage of hits in a 10-5 victory yesterday to force a do-or-die playoff for a semifinals berth in Baseball Philippines’ Series 3 at the Rizal Baseball Stadium.

Shortstop Bambol Servo batted in three runs including two in the bottom third inning, fuelling the team to the lopsided victory and a knockout match on Saturday at the same venue.

The Dumaguete batters peppered hurlers Ernesto Binarao and Rolando delos Reyes with 13 hits while Darwin dela Calzada and Ramil Placides yielded a combined eight hits but made some necessary putouts and strikeouts in the crucial innings.

“We really wanted to win this one badly because we don’t want to go on vacation early,” said Dumaguete playing team manager Lito Pulgo in Filipino.

Harbour Centre, Mizuno, IEI, PTC, Purefoods, The Heritage Park, San Mig Coffee, Welcoat Paints and the Philippine Sports Commission chaired by William “Butch” Ramirez are supporting this tournament organized by Community Sports, Inc.

Catcher Edmer del Socorro scored leadoff batter Andro Cuyugan with a single to left center field to give the Unibikers a 1-0 lead in the first inning but the Patriots quickly knotted the count at 1-all. Binarao scored on a fielder’s choice in the top second.

From there, Dumaguete  widened the gap, powering in two runs in the third and one more in the fifth against Taguig’s single run in the fourth frame for a 4-2 advantage.

Things got a little nasty in the sixth inning when the Unibikers pelted five hits to score four runs and contained the Patriots in the late innings to preserve the win.