De La Salle Zobel (DLSZ) progressed to the finals of the UAAP Season 88 boys’ baseball tournament after a hard-fought 4-3 win over National University Nazareth School (NUNS) at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The Junior Green Batters will aim for their fifth championship — and their first since baseball became an official UAAP sport — taking on the winner between the Bullpups and guest team PAREF Southridge School Admirals.
With this victory, DLSZ forced a triple tie for first place at 5-3, alongside NUNS and Southridge, in a game. The Junior Green Batters secured the head-to-head tiebreaker among the three teams with this sweep of the Bullpups.
Southridge punched its ticket to the playoff for the second and final finals berth by ousting defending champions University of Santo Tomas (UST) Junior Golden Sox, 10-7.
The Admirals will face NUNS at the same Malate venue for the right to challenge DLSZ in the best-of-three final series.
The Junior Green Batters were leading 4-3 when rain forced plate umpire Roland Siacor to temporarily halt the game.
When play resumed, a defensive battle unfolded, with DLSZ determined to cap their furious second-round run with a win.
“This is what we are waiting for. No matter what the results will be later, we are still ready for the finals,” said Gil Encarnacion, the Alabang-based side’s head coach, after his team’s impressive defensive stand.
DLSZ struck first in the bottom of the first inning, scoring three runs against NUNS pitcher Chester Mateo. The Junior Green Batters capitalized on a crucial error on an attempted putout by Amadeus Trozado to take the early lead.
The league’s then-number-one team responded in the second inning, matching DLSZ run for run. Justin Lauriquez tripled to drive in Jericho Catchero and Jopet Tabat, and a fielding error on John Plaza’s bat allowed Lauriquez to score, leveling the game.
DLSZ regained the lead in the third inning, with a Laurence Valeros double scoring a run following a sacrifice hit from Joaquin Calanog.
The Junior Green Batters maintained this advantage into the seventh inning despite gloomy weather before the game was ultimately called off.
Calanog played a key role in all of DLSZ’s runs, driving in four RBIs in three at-bats — one hit that scored three in the first inning and a walk that brought home the marginal run. Valeros delivered a dominant pitching performance, retiring 10 NUNS batters while limiting them to five hits.
Lauriquez finished with two RBIs for the Bullpups on his lone hit in the second inning, while Mateo absorbed the loss after allowing a walk to Calanog and eight hits from Zobel.
Meanwhile, Admiral JC Basañes led Southridge to victory over the UST Junior Golden Sox, closing out the match on his own terms. The 15-year-old pitcher took over from starter Amiel Belgar and stifled any late surge from UST, keeping them scoreless on four hits.
Southridge’s defensive intensity fueled their comeback, scoring 10 runs in the seventh and eighth innings to complete a stunning turnaround.
The Admirals initially needed just three consecutive hits from seniors Matt Genota, Yano Antonio and Joaquin Salvador to tie the score at five in the seventh.
The Golden Sox briefly regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh with Isaac Tolentino and Jess Mark de Leon providing key hits for a 7-5 advantage. However, those runs marked the end of their campaign.
Antonio’s double to left-center accounted for two RBIs, while Tolentino and De Leon added two RBIs each. Despite the efforts of three pitchers to contain the rally, Van Joshua Ibabao took the loss after giving up the five unearned runs in the eighth. (ABS-CBN News)