01 December 2013, 6:50 p.m. – THE UST Golden Sox failed to recover from a jittery start and succumbed a 4-11 beating against Philab Ballbusters in the Philippine Sports Comission Chairman’s Baseball Classic tournament at the Rizal Memorial Stadium Sunday.
UST’s Arvin Plaza and Conrado Quiatchon were immediately struck out by national team mainstay and Philab pitcher Vladimir Eguia on top of the first inning. Carlo Conge’s left field hit was a flyout.
Philab started piling points when the bases were loaded. A centerfield hit scored 2 runs-batted-in (RBI) for the Ballbusters to extend their lead, 5-0.
Golden Sox Bernardo Siaotong was relieved of his pitching duties after the 2RBI. However, rookie pitcher Lesmar Ventura failed to halt the Philab barrage as it scored four more runs to end the first inning, 9-0.
UST tallied its first point via a Conge RBI double off a left field bat on top of the fourth.
The Golden Sox’ offense started clicking in the fifth and sixth innings, where they scored one and two points, respectively.
“They (Golden Sox) had a slow start. Our pitchers lack confidence and heart. If it weren’t for the 9-0 first inning, we could’ve won,” coach Jeffrey Santiago said.
The Golden Sox now hold a 1-2 win-loss card in the double elimination off-season tourney. Ralph Joshua D.R. Hernandez
