Cebu batters whip Unibikers, notch 2nd win in Baseball IV

Cebu overpowered Dumaguete with solid hitting as it fashioned out a 10-5 victory while Forward Taguig leaned on Ernesto Binarao’s superb pitching to defeat Manila, 5-2, yesterday in Baseball Philippines Series IV elims at the Rizal Baseball Stadium.

The Dolphins, the Series II champions, put on a dazzling show at the plate as they peppered Darwin dela Calzada and Lito Pulgo with 18 hits, including eight in the first two innings en route to their second straight win.

“Our pitching wasn’t that good in this game but we made up for it with good hitting,” said Cebu team manager Isaac Bacarisas, referring to Joseph Orillana, Jerome Bacarisas and youthful Sebastian Uichico, who yielded a combined 12 hits.

The Dolphins also made five double plays to underscore their fine defensive game that sent the Unibikers reeling to their second defeat in three games in the tournament organized by Community Sports, Inc.

The day, however, belonged to Binarao, whose fastballs held the Sharks, the Series II runners-up, to just five hits and scoreless in the first eight innings while striking out six batters as the Patriots took their first win in two starts.

Binarao drew a solid backup from shortstop Jeffrey Hardillo, who batted in three runs in five times at bat to complete the victory.

The Sharks, backed by Harbour Centre, tried to rally from 0-5 in the ninth and final inning but could only manage two runs as they fell to 1-2.

Third baseman Niño Tator batted in a run while catcher Rommel Roja scored the Sharks’ only other run on a fielding error by the Patriots.

Mizuno, Gatorade, Purefoods TJ Hotdogs, Welcoat Paints, Industrial Enterprises, Inc., Harbour Centre, The Heritage Park and Agility Logistics are sponsoring the event with Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, PABA, Sports Radio and Makisig Sports as partners.

In the third game, Muntinlupa stunned Series III titlist Batangas, 6-2, to jump to solo second place with a 2-1 (win-loss) slate.