UST outguns Green Batters titleholders, continues untarnished second round campaign
Joie Frances Timbas
The UST Golden Sox blanked another formidable opponent in the UAAP Season 85 baseball tournament as they outlasted the defending champions DLSU Green Batters in 11 grueling innings, 12–11, on April 4, Tuesday morning, at the UP Diliman Baseball Field.
After a struggling first round performance where they suffered a five-game losing skid, the Golden Sox regained their footing as they opened the second-round with a 13–6 annihilation of the top-seeded UP Fighting Maroons.
Continuing their rally in the win column, this upset win over the Season 81 champions tallied the third consecutive win for the Golden Sox.
The nail-biter match started with a slow pace of an expected DLSU lead, 5–3, courtesy of a third inning 4–2 run blasted by the Green Batters.
Things started to heat up as the Golden Sox fought back to cut the margin with their own 4–2 outing in the seventh inning, making the match at a deadlock, 7–7.
The Golden Sox nabbed three runs on top of the eighth inning with two innings left to mount a comfortable advantage over DLSU. It was quickly erased by the Green Batters by capitalizing on the errors of UST to tie the match, 10-all.
After a scoreless ninth inning and another tied output in the extended tenth inning, UST’s starting second baseman Justine Rosales had enough and ended his scoreless slump of four at-bats, allowing third baseman Jester Tapia to secure what became the game-winning run.
In the bottom of the eleventh and final inning, Golden Sox relief pitcher John Mark Barsales finished off DLSU’s third baseman Vince Flores, left fielder Joshua Pineda, and second baseman Joseph Alcontin to end the heart-wrenching match, 12–11.
The Golden Sox improved to a 3–5 win-loss record which puts them at the fourth spot, while the Green Batters incurred their second straight loss to settle a 5–3 standing.
After the Holy Week break, UST will aim to extend their winning streak as they clash against the NU Bulldogs on April 12, Wednesday, at the same venue.
