Defending champions NU Bulldogs called dibs on the first twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 87 baseball Final Four, taking down the UP Fighting Maroons for a 7-1 record.
National University secured the first ticket to the UAAP Season 87 Baseball Final Four, bouncing back with a 12-5 victory over University of the Philippines, Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
With the win, the Bulldogs also claimed the first twice-to-beat advantage, solidifying their hold on the top spot with a 7-1 win-loss record. They are ahead of second-place De La Salle University, which stands at 5-3.
The Green Batters are currently facing the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles (1-6) as of publishing.
The win also came at the right time after NU suffered its first loss of the season against University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday, 10-12.
The defending champions relied on another explosive inning to fuel their offense, scoring seven runs in the second inning. Most of these runs came against UP starting pitcher Daniel Badrina and hits directed toward Fighting Maroons captain Ian Mercado.
After Badrina struck out Kevin Maulit, Herald Tenorio, Gio Gorpido, Kyle Hardillo, and Nigel Paule each fired booming hits to shallow centerfield and toward Mercado, extending the Bulldogs' lead to 5-0.
Mercado finally made a catch against Jherick Timban in left-center field, but two more hits directed his way from Kenneth Maulit and Tenorio drove in two more runs.
Fortunately for UP, first baseman Razhley Santos recovered the ball in an ensuing play that caught Tenorio attempting to steal third base on a throw to third baseman Axl Ross Vispo.
The seven-run inning turned out to be the difference, as the Bulldogs held on for the win.
Kenneth Maulit led NU's offense with four hits in five at-bats, producing three RBIs, while Tenorio added three hits in four at-bats, contributing one more RBI.
"It was a wake-up call for us kasi siguro nag-relax kami at 'yung mga bata. Ang team kasi talaga ng tournament na 'to is 'Respect your opponents' talaga; na kahit sino 'yung opponent mo, huwag mong mamaliitin. Every inning, every pitch, dapat pukpok talaga. 'Yun dapat ang attitude ng mga players," said second-year head coach Romar Landicho.
"Learning from our loss talaga; actually similar 'yung nangyari from our previous game. Kaya pinapaalala naming mga coaches, dinikdik namin sa mga utak nila na huwag ng mangyari 'yon kasi nga medyo mabigat sa loob namin. Ang importante, may natutunan kami," Landicho added.
UP had several opportunities to score in the fourth and sixth innings after NU pitcher Amiel De Guzman gave up walks, including three straight in the fourth. However, the Fighting Maroons could not capitalize on their baserunners, with the reigning Best Pitcher cleaning up his mistakes with strikeouts.
De Guzman completed a nine-inning game, allowing just nine hits and two earned runs, while limiting last year's MVP Mercado to just one hit in three at-bats.
Meanwhile, UP slipped to 3-5 and now faces must-win situations against fellow semifinal contenders Adamson University (4-4) and the University of Santo Tomas (3-5) after suffering their second loss of the second round to the defending champions.
Badrina took the loss, surrendering six of the eight runs the Bulldogs scored in the first two innings. Relievers Kiel Agojo and Ram Matanguihan combined to allow just four runs in the final seven frames for NU, but UP’s batters could not recover from the deep hole they dug in the second inning.
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
NU 1 7 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 12 14 5
UP 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 9 3