MANILA, Philippines - An outhit Ateneo side clobbered La Salle, 8-4, yesterday and completed a rare feat of sweeping the first round in the UAAP baseball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Ballpark.
The Eagles managed only seven hits off Green Archers hurler Carlos Muñoz but made the most of these by translating them into runs in scoring their fifth straight victory that glued them at the top of the six-team standing going into the lower half of the two-round tournament.
Coach Emerson Barandoc’s boys could only tag the fastball-throwing Muñoz with a pair of hits at the bottom of the second inning, but thanks to the Archers’ listless defense, the Eagles produced four runs on those in soaring to a 4-0 lead.
The Hail Mary nine also had a hit each in the sixth and eighth frame, but saw four of their runners crossing the plate on those occasions, turning what started as a close contest into a complete rout.
Coach Alex Estipular’s Archers, on the other hand, connected 10 times off the combined efforts of Dylan Tantuico and Adriane Bernardo but just couldn’t score runs, sending runners home only once each at the bottom of the first and second and twice in the fourth.
The loss though was only the Archers’ second in five outings as they remained close to the leaders with a chance to advance to the finals against the same team.
If Ateneo again sweeps the second phase, it automatically snatches the crown without going through the playoff.
“Sana nga magtuloy-tuloy na para hindi na magdaan sa playoff,” said the 40-year-old Barandoc, who started his coaching job at the University of the Philippines before transferring to neighboring Ateneo. “Medyo mabigat-bigat na kalaban kasi ang La Salle sa tingin ko.”
Estipular, for his part, said he and the Archers will try to bounce back to beat the Eagles in their second meeting and hope to win, too, their remaining assignments to forge a title showdown with the Katipunan-based Eagles.
“May second round pa naman, Sana makabawi,” he added.