Bulldogs roar, secure UAAP baseball crown

On the brink of collapse, National University (NU) turned pressure into power, unleashing a fifth-inning storm to etch its name in University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) baseball tournament with back-to-back titles.

The Bulldogs completed a sweep of the De La Salle University, pulling off a come-from-behind 9-6 victory in Game 2 of the Season 87 best-of-three finals series on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.

The victory marked NU’s fifth baseball crown and sixth overall championship this season, adding to its gold medals in men’s badminton, women’s basketball, women’s taekwondo kyorugi, women’s beach volleyball, and men’s tennis.

NU remains in contention for both the men’s and women’s volleyball titles, where they are also the reigning champions.

After trimming the deficit to three in the fourth inning, 2-5, the Bulldogs exploded for five runs in the fifth to seize the lead and never looked back.

The turning point came when Tuting Samuel hit two consecutive batters — Kenneth Maulit and Herald Tenorio — placing them on second and first, respectively.

With a chance to close the gap, Kevin Maulit delivered a single just beyond the reach of Samuel on the right field, scoring his brother Kenneth. Gio Gorpido followed with a sacrifice fly to bring Tenorio home, cutting the lead to one.

Finals Most Valuable Player and graduating senior Nigel Paule then smacked an RBI double to level the game. The Bulldogs added two more runs, courtesy of Paule and pinch runner Lester Balon, who replaced Kyle Hardillo, to complete the rally.

“We’re so relieved. We’re so happy,” NU head coach Romar Landicho, now a two-time UAAP champion, said.

“I can’t even describe the feeling because this is history for NU. It was really the heart, the mental toughness, and the never-give-up mentality — that was the key to getting this win.”

Clinging to a slim one-run lead entering the eighth, NU tacked on two more insurance runs to build a more comfortable 9-6 cushion.

They sealed the win in the ninth inning with a textbook double play, proving once more why they were the season’s best defensive team.

With De La Salle’s captain Lord Aragorn De Vera on second and Miguel Agoncillo on first, Barry Oñas tried to extend the game. But his grounder went straight to Kiel Olazo, who threw to Kevin Maulit to tag Agoncillo out at second before Maulit fired to first baseman Herald Tenorio to retire Oñas and end the game.