NU Bulldogs topple Tigers, reach final

MANILA, Philippines - Top seed National University unloaded a five-hit, six-run spree in the fifth inning to run away with a 7-2 win over No. 4 University of Santo Tomas in yesterday’s rubber match at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium, forging a title showdown with equally hungry Ateneo for the UAAP Season 74 baseball crown.

With bases loaded, Alfredo Olivares singled to center, sending home two runners and triggering four more runs that swayed the game in favor of the Bulldogs, 7-0, eventually catapulting them to the championship round.

The Bulldogs, looking for their first UAAP baseball crown since 1967, and the Blue Eagles, eyeing their breakthrough diadem on the diamond, start their best-of-three titular duel on Thursday at 9 a.m., also at the Rizal ballpark.

“We had that one big inning and was the key today,” NU coach Isaac Bacarisas said in Filipino, referring to the fateful fifth that spelled the difference and eventually dethroned the Tigers.

UST forced a KO match after hacking out a 4-2 victory in 10 innings at the start of the Final Four last Thursday.

Right-hander Mike John Gante presided over NU’s defense, holding his mound with a variety of pitches and yielding two runs on five hits while fanning out two UST batters in a no-relief job.

After getting on the scoreboard with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers made their desperate stand by loading the bases with two outs in each of the final three frames. NU, however, managed to get the third outs each time, with Gante striking out Gerald Mitra for the final out and securing NU’s ticket to the finale.

But winning came with a price for NU as Aries Oruga, its ace hurler who played outfield yesterday, hurt his right knee while running to first base in the fourth inning.

As to their chances against Ateneo IX, which is into its maiden finals appearance after a 13-4 rout of F4 rival La Salle last Thursday, Bacarisas said it could go either way.