UST nine nips La Salle in UAAP baseball

MANILA, Philippines - University of Santo Tomas charged back from a six-run deficit then outsteadied La Salle in the extension inning to eke out an 8-7 win and sweep the first round of the UAAP Season 73 baseball tourney over the weekend at the Rizal ballpark.

Ka’sulhay Argel reached home off a single by Michael Zapanta in the extra inning to score the marginal run for the Tigers, who capped the initial phase of action with an unblemished 5-0 slate.

After a slow start, the España-based batters gradually chipped the Archers’ 6-0 lead from the third inning on, finally knotting the count at the end of regulation, 6-6, with a three-run explosion in the ninth.

Meanwhile, National U plastered defending champion Adamson, 7-3, to finish second behind the Tigers at the halfway mark with 4-1.

The Falcons slipped to 2-3, in a tie for third with Ateneo, which banked on back-to-back home runs by Kevin Ramos in the eighth and ninth to beat University of the Philippines, 13-10.

It was the fourth loss in five outings for the Maroons to share the cellar with Archers (1-4).