The UST Golden Sox extended their winning streak to three after outlasting the defending champions De La Salle University Green Batters in an 11-inning thriller, 12-11, in the second round of the UAAP Season 85 baseball tournament at the UP Diliman Baseball Field on Tuesday.
Tied at 11-all in the top of the 11th inning, Golden Sox Justine Rosales blasted a run-batted-in (RBI) triple to left field that sent Jester Tapia to home plate, 12-11.
Golden Sox pitcher John Barsales held the defense in the bottom 11th, striking out DLSU’s last three batters Vincent Flores, Joshua Pineda and Joseph Alcontin to close out the game for UST.
“Hindi bumigay ang pitcher. Mayroong mga inning na bumigay ang depensa pero naka-recover naman ang mga bata. Kaya na nilang labanan ‘yung pressure. Nakakapag-perform na sila under pressure,” Santiago told the Varsitarian.
Green Batter Shinji Kajihara flied out to left field for the final out in the bottom ninth to force a knockout inning.
Barsales stole home plate after DLSU pitcher Renato Samuel’s costly pickoff error in the top of the 10th inning, 11-10. However, Green Batter Kajihara scored a run after Lord De Vera hit a sac fly into center field to force the 11th inning, 11-all.
With the game at a 7-all deadlock in the top of the eighth inning, John Vargas hit a left-field RBI double to score Marven Trillana, 8-7, before Steven Dominguez hammered a two-run homer to pull away, 10-7.
The Green Batters responded with three straight runs in the bottom eighth capped off by Samuel’s line drive to center field that plated De Vera and equalized the game at 10-all.
Trailing by two in the bottom of the seventh inning, 5-7, DLSU’s Flores launched a left-field fly that plated Julius Diaz and Samuel, tying the match, 7-all.
UST converted three runs in the top of the second and third inning, 3-1, before DLSU responded with four homers in the bottom third to lead by two, 5-3.
The Golden Sox tallied 16 hits and five errors, while DLSU recorded 11 and four.
UST is now tied with the National University Bulldogs in fourth place with a 3-5 win-loss record.
For the Golden Sox’s next game after the Holy Week, the head coach’s message for the Golden Sox was simple: “Do their best, no pressure.”
“Wala akong ibibigay sa kanilang pressure. Basta relax, focus on your skills. Wag nang isipin kung manalo kami or hindi. Kung matalo, part of the game. Enjoy the game. ‘Yun lang ang aming mindset,” he added.
They will look to continue their winning streak as they next face the Bulldogs on Wednesday, April 12, 6:30 p.m., at the same venue. with reports from Jana Francesca Yao.
