THE UST Golden Sox wasted no time making their presence felt as they overwhelmed the Ateneo Blue Eagles in seven innings, 13-3, in the UAAP Season 87 baseball tournament opener on Thursday, Feb. 26, at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Season 85 MVP Justine Rosales roped a triple and hustled all the way home after an error from Ateneo’s Enzo Montemayor, completing a five-run blitz to trigger the mercy rule with a 10-point advantage.
”We’re not focusing on the win, we’re looking ahead to the next game… Leave this win behind—we’re aiming for another one,” head coach Jeffrey Santiago told The Flame.
The Golden Sox came out swinging to start the match as Alwyn Pinero put his team on the board with the first run, followed by Justine Rosales and Harry Geronimo to open a 3-0 advantage.
Down by four runs, Blue Eagle Bocc Bernardo had a single, driving in Alfy Tueres in the top of the third inning, 4-1.
UST scored two runs in the fourth inning, sparked by a triple from Reymund Vargas. Meanwhile, Ateneo responded with two runs in the top of the fifth after Joaquin Casanova hit a triple that drove in Bernardo and Tueres, 6-3.
In the sixth inning, the Golden Sox continued their rhythm with Vargas and Pinero scoring a run each, 8-3.
“The rookies entered the game, which posed some challenges. In the first inning, there wasn’t much connection yet,” Rosales said.
“What we want to improve is our energy on the field because it drops whenever the opponent scores,” he added.
The Golden Sox are set to go head-to-head with the Adamson Soaring Falcons on March 2, Sunday at the same venue. F – Rishna Joy Maglinao
