Dolphins thwart Mariners

Cebu held off Muntinlupa’s last-inning charge and came away with a 9-7 victory to firm up its hold of the lead while Forward Taguig hung on to No. 2 with a scrambling 1-0 win over Dumaguete in Baseball Philippines’ Series IV at the Rizal Baseball Stadium yesterday.

The Dolphins fought back from a scoreless stint in the first three innings with a nine-run effort in the next five frames, including a three-run blitz in the seventh, then thwarted the Mariners last-inning rally to zero in on the first semis berth with a 5-1 card.

Muntinlupa, held scoreless after a one-run effort in the opening frame, uncorked a six-run binge on the top of the ninth but the effort wasn’t enough to overhaul the Dolphins’ big lead. The Mariners dropped to 3-2.

Earlier, Forward Taguig translated Dumaguete’s late fielding error into a run as it hacked out a 1-0 win.

With bases loaded, Rizel Santos misfired on a squeeze play but third base runner Ferdinand Recto scooted home after Dumaguete’s catcher Edmer del Socorro bungled what could have been an easy tag at home plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, enabling the Patriots to snatch the win.

Forward Taguig thus extended its amazing run to four after an opening game setback for solo second.

“We got a little lucky but I think it’s our discipline that helped us win this game,” said Forward Taguig playing manager Ricky Jimenez in Filipino.

Southpaw Ernesto Binarao outdueled fellow RP standout Darwin dela Calzada on the mound as he struck out seven batters to fuel the three-hit triumph.

Dela Calzada actually didn’t play bad either, yielding just four hits while silencing the Forward Taguig hitters going into the final inning.

But Dela Calzada’s effort went to naught as Del Socorro crumbled under pressure in what turned out the biggest play of the game.

Recto belted a double to left field, Jimenez had a walk and Jeff Hardillo smashed a single to left to load the base and set up Santos for a potential squeeze play.

Dumaguete, the Series III runner-up, fell to its second straight defeat and fourth overall against two wins to slid to fourth in the tournament backed by Mizuno, Gatorade, Purefoods TJ Hotdogs, Welcoat Paints, Industrial Enterprises, Inc., Harbour Centre, The Heritage Park and Agility Logistics.

Earlier, Series III champion Batangas drew strength from the power-hitting Virgilio Roxas as it blasted Manila, 11-3, to arrest a three-game skid for a 2-3 record for fourth in the league supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, PABA, Sports Radio and Makisig Sports.

Roxas, the Series III MVP, made five RBIs he highlighted with a hit to centerfield off losing pitcher Charlie Labrador’s fastball for a three-run homer that gave Batangas a 5-0 lead after two innings.

“We hit well and our defense also clicked because we made less errors than in our previous games,” said Batangas team manager Randy Dizer.