Ateneo guns for first baseball crown vs NU

MANILA, Philippines - After a historic four-peat in men’s basketball last sem, Ateneo sets its sights on another university milestone by clinching its first-ever UAAP baseball title today in Game 2 of the Season 74 finals against equally-hungry National U at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Looking far from being a first-time finalist during Thursday’s opener, the Blue Batters bamboozled the top-seeded Bulldogs with 13 hits spiked by Matt Laurel’s first-inning three-run homer to run way with an 11-4 rout.

“As always, our target is to win every inning,” said AdMU coach Emerson Barandoc, who is expected to start Dylan Tantuico, Jr. in the 9 a.m. Game 2.

Barandoc’s wards stuck to the script most of the way in Game 1, exploding with three runs in the first, one in the fifth, three in the eighth, and four in the ninth. They only lost the eighth inning after surrendering four runs, three of them a fielding error at centerfield.

A breakthrough championship on the diamond would mean a lot sweeter to outfielder Kirk Long, who’s looking to end his UAAP career with a fifth personal title. Long owns four rings as member of the Eagles’ vaunted cage crew last October.

The Bulldogs vowed to come back strong as they bid to keep their hopes for a first diadem in over 40 years alive.

“We have to forget that defeat and concentrate on the next game. Hopefully we can equalize and get the momentum going into the deciding game,” said NU team manager Wopsy Zamora, who had a heart-to-heart talk with the Bulldogs yesterday.