De Leon ends marathon game as Taguig finally wins
Pampanga Steals A Base. (Photo - courtesy of owner)It was literally a long day for a Baseball Philippines doubleheader.
The start of the first game was delayed for two hours because of rain. The second match went smoothly, except that it became a marathon game that forced perhaps some people watching in the stands to anxiously wait for the game's end.
But the Forward Taguig Patriots' Christian de Leon granted almost everyone's wish as he smashed a game-winning hit in the bottom of the 12th inning to defeat the Pampanga Sand Kings, 3-2.
With two outs, de Leon battled into a three-ball, two-strike count with the Sand Kings' ace pitcher Ernesto Binarao, an RP team veteran, before blasting the seventh pitch of the at-bat into left field to score third base runner Richard Siacor that ended a nearly three-hour affair between two of the cellar-dwelling teams of the Dunkin' Donuts Baseball Philippines Series 6.
The win propelled to the Patriots into the win column after losing their first two games. In both games, they were able to hold similar 2-0 leads early only to struggle down the stretch against the Cebu Dolphins and the Batangas Bulls, respectively.
Taguig was coming off a 15-7 setback to Batangas in a game that saw the squad of coach Felino Francisco commit 10 errors.
"I'll admit we don't have a good team right now," said Francisco. "I'm glad we finally got this first win and hopefully this would help us get a spot in the semifinals."
Siacor set up the winning run when he reached first on a passed ball by Pampanga catcher and starting pitcher Alfredo Dizon then stole second and reached third on a groundout.
The Patriots won the longest game played since the Manila Sharks defeated the Alabang Tigers, 11-10, in 14 innings of last year's Series 5 semifinals. In that same tournament, they battled for 12 innings before losing to the Bulls, 5-4.
This time, it was Taguig which had to rally from a 2-0 deficit as Darwin dela Calzada and Justin Payongayong both scored to tie the game in the fifth inning on an error by the Sand Kings' centerfielder Andro Cuyugan.
Taguig Base Runner Is Tagged Out By Constancio Manabat. Cuyugan was attempting to make a diving catch off Ferdinand Recto's two-out flyball. He managed to put the ball in the glove but it after landing in the grass.
Pampanga had a chance to reclaim the lead in the top of the ninth when Dizon singled then reached third on a base-hit by Edwin Andrade to the delight of a few Pampanga fans on hand.
Payongayong, who replaced dela Calzada in the second inning, intentionally walked Binarao to load the bases. But the 17-year old shrugged off the pressure by forcing Jeffrey Ardio to hit a popout to survive the jam.
Actually, Taguig had a chance to win it in the bottom half of the same frame. Catcher Alfredo Jimenez hit a single then advanced to second on a bunt by Fernando Badrina.
However, Jimenez made a baserunning mistake. After seeing him being way far from the second base bag, first baseman Michael Panlaqui, who caught Siacor's pop-fly into the infield, immediately threw the ball to shorstop Armando Vinuya to complete an inning-ending double play.
Pampanga, bannered mostly of players from Angeles University Foundation, remained winless after two games. Early on, the Sand Kings had a chance to gain that elusive first win.
In the first inning, Vinuya scored from third after Binarao reached base on an error by Taguig second baseman Jeffrey Hardillo. Two frames later, Panlaqui touched home on another error by Hardillo for a 2-0 lead.
Dela Calzada, coming off a mandated one-game rest, pitched for just one inning and threw 37 pitches. He stayed the rest of the contest as the team's first baseman.
Payongayong then threw 119 pitches in 10 innings and was able to fend off numerous Pampanga threats despite giving up seven hits and walked four batters.