Ronald Palacol and Niño Tator belted one run each at the bottom of the first inning to set the tone for the shutout that further dented the Green Archers’ performance this season.
Two more runs, courtesy of John Isip in the bottom of the second frame and Jessie Natanawari in the sixth pulled the Maroons to a big lead over the Archers.
The Archers, who had nine wins in row in the double-round eliminations but were halted, 4-6, by the three-peat seeking Maroons last Thursday, had two scoring opportunities at the top of the sixth and eighth frames. But reliever Darwin de la Calzada was unrelenting atop the mound and foiled De La Salle’s bid.
With the bases loaded and two outs, De la Calzada struck out a hapless Eric Duclayen for the Archers’ third out in the sixth frame.
De la Calzada then hurled another killer of a pitch in the eighth frame, forcing Jonard Pareja to fly out to center for the third out.
The Maroons shoot for the crown at 12 noon on Sunday. If necessary, Game Three will be played next Saturday.
Meanwhile, De La Salle won the UAAP women’s tennis title via a six-game sweep last Sunday at the Rizal Sports Center outdoor courts in Pasig City.
The Lady Green netters dethroned defending champion University of Santo Tomas, 2-0, after Berry Sepulveda downed Joan Bibal, 6-2, 6-2, in the first singles and Sommer Bisagas and Krissy Alina survived Ziarla Battad and Katrina Lopez, 7-6 (4), 7-5, in the doubles. The no-bearing second singles match between Janet Uy and Ofelia Arribe was not played.
In the men’s division, reigning titlist UST nipped Ateneo, 2-1, to forge a championship showdown with La Salle on Saturday.
The Blue Eagles, champions in 2000 and 2001, took a 1-0 lead when Neil Co won the first singles over Pius Ocampo, 6-4, 6-4.
But the Growling Tigers of Karl Santamaria fought back behind Maclean Barraquias and Art Thomas Calingasan, who scored a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Gee Abacan and Gino Bautista in the doubles while Art Philip Calingasan overpowered James Imbong, 6-0, 6-1, in the second singles.
UST enjoys a twice-to-beat advantage in the finals after topping the two-round elimination at 7-1 followed by La Salle at 6-2. Ateneo, which had a 5-3 record, and University of the Philippines (1-6) will dispute third place.