THE UST Golden Sox kept their Final Four hopes alive after routing the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 16-8, to force a playoff for the last semifinals berth in the UAAP Season 88 baseball tournament on Easter Sunday, April 5, at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Earlier in the day, UST held on for an 8-7 win over UP in a resumed game from March 29 that was suspended due to poor visibility.
After back-to-back wins in a single day, UST joined Adamson and UP in a three-way tie at 4-6 at the end of the eliminations.
The Golden Sox will face the Fighting Maroons for the last Final Four berth on Wednesday, April 8, at the same venue.
“Of course, the boys are very happy, especially the coaches. Even though we lost in the past games, at least we made up for it because we are still in the Final Four,” UST assistant coach Mario Cerda Jr. said postgame.
Golden Sox Tim Caldo set the tone early, driving in the game’s first run. Ken Madrid followed with an RBI to give the Golden Sox a quick 5–0 advantage.
The Blue Eagles mounted a fifth-inning rally, scoring five runs off UST’s defensive errors. Mikaelo Osorio and Lucas Atentido led the surge, with Osorio bringing in Zane Prades for Ateneo’s first run to trim the lead to 9-5.
UST quickly answered back, as Ybbrahim Degollacion’s RBI double brought Charlie Belgar home for a 10–5 cushion.
Sean de Leon and rookie Kevin Liwag each drove in two runs in the sixth to extend UST’s lead to 14–5.
Despite Ateneo’s attempts to stay within reach, UST maintained control in the seventh inning with Caldo converting a home run to make it 15–7.
Liwag sealed the dominant outing with his second solo home run to left field in the eighth inning, 16–8.
Pitching relievers Kent Santillan and Eljin Mendoza allowed only three runs across four innings to eliminate the Katipunan-based squad. F
