GAMEDAY RECAP

Shoemakers Take First Bite Out of Sharks

Shoemakers 11, Sharks 5

MANILA - Marikina Shoemakers manager Randy Dizer was relatively at ease when starting pitcher Vladimir Eguia gave up two quick first-inning runs to begin the Shoemakers Series 2 campaign. With Marikina's pitching more than five-deep, he had the luxury of having his hurlers rip the cover off the baseball for up to three innings at the least, regardless of how the offense picks up the slack.

Turns out the skipper was right. But what he got was a left-arm delivered gift from the 19-year old Vladimir Eguia who merely settled down and got into a grove after that shaky first inning. The supposedly enigmatic offense meanwhile caught fire with a couple of four-run rallies in the second and fourth innings as Marikina defeated the Manila Sharks, 11-5 on Series 2 Opening Day at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Vladimir Equia went on to hurl a complete game, scattering eight hits while striking out ten hitters in the process. Four of the runs he gave up were unearned as the defense was not up to speed after the off-season lay-off.

Neither was the Manila defense with the leather as the first seven runs its pitchers surrendered were all unearned.

Marikina trailed 2-0 when Roel Batuto and Ericson Eguia opened the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles off Manila hurler Romeo Jasmin who was pegged to start in favor of the more talented Charlie Labrador. Matt Laurel reached on 2B Bambol Servo's throwing error to put the Shoemakers on the board. Stefano Baltao's sacrifice fly knotted the game. One out later, Joseph Apura reached on Jasmin's throwing error as Matt Laurel scored to give Marikina a lead it would not relinquish. Carlo Banzon's run-scoring single one batter later doubled the Sharks' deficit and sent Jasmin to the showers.

It was more of the same in the fourth frame when the Shoemakers effectively took control of the game. With one out, Jay Laurel reached on Servo's second miscue and Apura followed with a drive off reliever Mick Natividad that cleared the left-center field wall to give Marikina a 6-2 advantage. Randy DeLeon drew a walk and out later trotted home on Junifer Pinero's rbi-double. Batuto followed with another two-out single and Marikina had a six-run cushion.

Manila got a run back in the sixth on pinch-hitter Bacchus Ledesma's rbi-single.

Vladimir Eguia kept pounding on the strike zone however, retiring eight in a row and 11 of 12 at one point.

"Vlady had good command of his [two] pitches. He was hitting his spots and Junifer was was calling a good game as well," said Dizer. "I told him [at the start of the game] to go get three good innings at least. Baclay was ready in the bullpen."

The Shoemakers added three more runs in the eighth frame before the Sharks tried to make things interesting in the ninth when the Marikina defense committed a pair of errors that translated into two unearned runs to make it 11-5. But Ledesma struck out check-swinging a pitch in the dirt with two men on to end the potential rally.

 

 

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