Ateneo in first UAAP baseball finals appearance

Ateneo advanced to its first UAAP baseball finals after a 13-4 eight-inning semifinal win over La Salle in Season 74 action on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The Blue Eagles were in total control of the match and are holding on to a nine-run lead in the top of the ninth when it started to rain. The chief umpire, after 30 minutes of downpour, called off the match and gave the victory to Ateneo. The Blue Eagles will vie for the UAAP baseball crown for the first time since joining the league in 1978. The Katipunan-based batters finished second after the elimination round to clinch the twice-to-beat edge over the Green Archers. Ateneo, however, will have to wait for its finals opponent after defending champion University of Santo Tomas stunned top seed National University, 4-2, in the other Final Four duel. The Growling Tigers-Bulldogs knockout semis match will be on Sunday. Ateneo coach Emer Barandoc praised sophomore player Adrianne Bernardo's pitching and hitting in the game. Bernardo's two-run single, which sent Dio Remollo and Kirk Long home, sparked Ateneo's six-run first inning. The Blue Eagles were unstoppable from then on. Charles Catangui unloaded a three-run triple to right field to push the lead further to 10-2 at the bottom of the third. Dio Remollo belted a two-run homerun, his second this season, in the sixth inning as the Blue Eagles enjoyed a 13-4 edge. Interestingly, Long could become the first UAAP athlete in recent history to win two titles in one season. He played for the Ateneo men's basketball team, which bagged its fourth straight championship this season. — JVP, GMA News