De La Salle University seized a significant opportunity in the fifth inning to bounce back with a commanding 13-4 victory over Adamson University in the ongoing eliminations of the UAAP Season 86 Baseball tournament on Thursday at the UP Baseball Field in Diliman, Quezon City.

 

The Green Booters, who suffered a narrow 2-5 defeat against the National University Bulldogs last Sunday, now share the lead with NU and Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles.

 

"After nung talo namin sa NU, ang sabi ko lang sa kanila, yung last three games namin, must win. Hindi na pwedeng loss ulit kasi 'yan ang pwedeng maglagay sa 'min sa alanganin sa top four," said head coach Joseph Orillana on what was the squad's mindset moving forward.

 

"So ang gameplan namin is to win every game. As much as possible, 'yung last three games namin maipanalo namin kung gusto naming ma-secure 'yung top four, or even top two."

 

The team's sense of urgency was evident as the defending champions capitalized on the opportunity presented in the fifth inning, turning a 4-4 tie into a commanding 13-4 lead.

 

Pio Villamiel, who had grounded out in his first two at-bats, finally got a hit in his third at-bat with a double to left-center field, followed by JR Samuel adding a single to almost the same area, putting runners in scoring position.

 

A catching error on the throw to Adamson's second baseman, Mark Montoya, in an attempt to catch a steal, resulted in two runs for Villamiel and Samuel.

 

The team then added seven more runs, with Villamiel and Samuel continuing their strong performance with another base hit each. Samuel ended with a perfect four hits on four at-bats.

 

Adamson managed to limit De La Salle's offense in the next few innings, but ultimately fell short, leaving them on the brink of elimination with a 2-6 win-loss record.

 

Reigning Finals MVP Joshua Pineda contributed to the victory with a no-hit, eight-strikeout performance in four and two-third innings pitched, before Samuel closed it out in the ninth.

 

The Lines:

 

DLSU   0 4 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 - 13 12 5 

AdU    1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 - 4  6  4