UST outlasts UP in UAAP baseball playoff

c/o UAAP

Games on April 14 at the UP Diliman Baseball Field

3:00 p.m. - DLSU vs UST

6:00 p.m. - NU vs Ateneo

The last postseason ticket has been issued, and it belongs to the University of Santo Tomas, who clinched it on Saturday with a 15-11 victory over the University of the Philippines in a playoff at the UP Baseball Field inside the Diliman campus in Quezon City.

"Salamat sa Panginoon dahil binigyan kami ng suwerte. Pero 'yung mga bata nag-deliver, talagang pinaghirapan nila ang opensa namin," says long-time mentor Jeffrey Santiago.

A strong start allowed the Golden Sox to establish the lead, scoring eight runs in the first couple of innings and forcing the Maroon batters to dip into their bullpen early after allowing seven hits.

UP's ace Kobe Torres managed to quell the surge, but UST would have an answer by the fourth inning, capitalizing on errors to score five more runs to make it a 13-0 lead.

However, the Maroons channeled their inner fight and battled back. Ian Mercado blasted an inside-the-park grand slam to instill some hope in the bottom of the fourth.

They would channel seven more runs in the next three innings, slicing the deficit to three heading into the ninth, 14-11.

However, Jesus Cabigao stepped up for the Golden Sox in relief, allowing five hits and stranding seven runners to hold things down.

Santiago shares about his reliever, "Si Jesus, 'yung reliever namin, bumalik na sa kanyang kondisyon. Buhay na siya! Siya ang bumuhay sa amin. Tapus na ang Holy Week kaya nabuhay muli si Jesus!"

The final sequence saw Torres hit a grounder to second, with Justine Rosales able to force out Val Mangahas. The reigning league Most Valuable Player then made a beautiful throw to Alwyn Pinero at first to complete a game-clinching double play

UP, who lost in the finals last season, finishes in fifth place.

UST is set to face off against the defending champions La Salle in the Final Four, in which the format is set to make a comeback this season.

When asked about the upcoming matchup, Santiago says, "Nung nakaraang laro, panalo na kami nun kaya lang nag-error. Sana manalo kami."

The Lines:

TEAM. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H  E

UST     5 3 0 5 0 1 0 0 1  15 17 5

UP     0 0 0 4 5 1 1 0 0. 11 11  3