Golden Sox pummels NU out of bronze; finishes race on top of fourth straight win
By Joie Frances Timbas
Down goes another one.
The UST Golden Sox erased the NU Bulldogs’ hopes of a podium finish in the UAAP Season 85 baseball tournament via an 11–6 rout for their fourth-consecutive win on April 12, Wednesday evening, at the UP Diliman Baseball Field.
Earlier in the day, defending champions DLSU Green Batters (6–3) moved closer to returning to the finals after beating the last-seeded ADMU Blue Eagles (2–7). This win cemented both UST and NU out of finals contention even before their match started.
The Golden Sox inched closer to a podium finish after they improved to a 4–5 standing, continuing their rally for a perfect second round campaign. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs fell out of the podium with a 3–6 record.
In the third inning, team captain and left fielder Mhiegeil Cerda and super rookie second baseman Justine Rosales batted with heat to incur four runs in the inning that put the Golden Sox ahead early in the match.
Cerda marked off a base hit alongside starting first baseman Bryan Camarsi, while Rosales etched an inside-the-park home run and brought right fielder Reymond Vargas to complete the 4–1 run after a lone Bulldog score in the second inning
The Bulldogs rallied in the seventh inning on the verge of snagging a possible come-from-behind win as they cut the deficit 6–7 courtesy of a Kenneth Maulit home-run, his only hit of the game for NU.
However, UST turned to their offense once more and had their own late game flurry of four runs evenly scored in the eighth and ninth innings to end the match with a decent margin, 11–6.
It was the duo of Cerda and Rosales yet again who starred from the third inning as they scored the insurance runs in the eighth inning. Substitute first baseman John Areglado and catcher June Cruz put the nail in the coffin with two more in the final inning.
Golden Sox relief pitcher John Mark Barsales, after allowing two runs, regained composure and stopped the opponents via striking out the next eight batters, including the last two in catcher Kent Altarejos and shortstop Cyril Antipolo.
On the other hand, Bulldogs relief pitcher MJ Carolino nursed the Golden Sox’s hot streak of 12 of the 18 hits and seven of the 11 runs in the three-and-one-third innings he pitched.
The Golden Sox will have the chance to hold onto that last spot on the podium and spoil the AdU Soaring Falcons’ championship hopes as they clash on Saturday, 3:30 p.m., at the same venue.
The Line:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UST 0 0 4 0 0 2 1 2 2 11 18 2
NU 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 6 5 5
