DLSZ punches finals ticket, sends NUNS to playoff

De La Salle Zobel (DLSZ) moved on to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 high school baseball finals following a hard-fought 4-3 win over National University Nazareth School in the rescheduled final day of eliminations yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

The Junior Green Batters will aim for their fifth championship — and their first since baseball became an official UAAP sport — taking on the winner between the Bullpups and guest team PAREF Southridge School.

With this victory, DLSZ forced a triple tie for first place at 5–3, alongside NUNS and Southridge, in a game that began on Saturday. The Junior Green Batters secured the head-to-head tiebreaker among the three teams with this sweep of the Bullpups.

Southridge punched its ticket to the playoff for the second and last Finals berth by ousting defending champion University of Santo Tomas (UST), 10–7. The Admirals will face NUNS on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at the same Malate venue for the right to challenge DLSZ in the best-of-three Finals series.

The Junior Green Batters were leading 4–3 when rain forced plate umpire Roland Siacor to temporarily halt the game.

When play resumed on Monday at 7:30 a.m., a defensive battle unfolded, with DLSZ determined to cap their furious second-round run with a win.

“This is what we are waiting for. No matter what the results will be later, we are still ready up to the Finals,” said Gil Encarnacion, the Alabang-based side’s head coach, after his team’s impressive defensive stand.

“You really can’t teach the mentality but what I love about the boys is their confidence in this kind of situation.”

DLSZ struck first in the bottom of the first inning, scoring three runs against the vaunted NUNS pitcher Chester Mateo. The Junior Green Batters capitalized on a crucial error on an attempted put out by Amadeus Trozado to take the early lead.

The league’s then-number-one team responded in the second inning, matching DLSZ run for run. Justin Lauriquez tripled to drive in Jericho Catchero and Jopet Tabat, and a fielding error on John Plaza’s bat allowed Lauriquez to score, leveling the game.

DLSZ regained the lead in the third inning, with a Laurence Valeros double scoring a run following a sacrifice hit from Joaquin Calanog. The Junior Green Batters maintained this advantage into the seventh inning despite gloomy weather before the game was ultimately called off.

Calanog played a key role in all of DLSZ’s runs, driving in four RBIs in three at-bats — one hit that scored three in the first inning and a walk that brought home the marginal run. Valeros delivered a dominant pitching performance, retiring 10 NU batters while limiting them to five hits.

Lauriquez finished with two RBIs for the Bullpups on his lone hit in the second inning, while Mateo absorbed the loss after allowing a walk to Calanog and eight hits from Zobel.

Meanwhile, Admiral JC Basañes led Southridge to victory over the Junior Golden Sox, closing out the match on his own terms. The 15-year-old pitcher took over from starter Amiel Belgar and stifled any late surge from UST, keeping them scoreless on four hits.

Southridge’s defensive intensity fueled their comeback, scoring 10 runs in the seventh and eighth innings to complete a stunning turnaround.