GAMEDAY RECAP

Eguia Handcuffs Listless Forward

Shoemakers 3, Forward 0

MANILA - Mild mannered left hander Vladimir Eguia does not seem intimidating at all. On Sunday however, the 19-year old southpaw continued to mow down opponents in furnishing a complete game five-hit shutout to lead the Marikina Shoemakers over punchless Forward Taguig, 3-0 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Eguia struck out eleven Forward hitters — the third time in three starts this season he has recorded double digits in strikeouts — while essentially relying on a two-pitch arsenal of fastballs and sinkers. His 3-0 record, 34 strikeouts, and a 0.30 earned run average this season are currently tops in the circuit.

Joseph Apura, who drove in two runs, gave the Shoemakers the only run it would need with an rbi double in the second inning. It came after Ericson Eguia stroked a one-out double off Forward starter Roel Empacis.

Taguig, which also got blanked on opening day, was shutout for the second time this season. The Forward lead the circuit in u-turns to the dugout (38 strikeouts) and are the only team to have scored fewer than 15 runs through week 4.

It is not as if Taguig does not get scoring chances. On Sunday the Forward run themselves out of an inning on four occasions punctuated by incompetent base-running gaffes — certainly not a good sign for a team struggling to score runs, especially in a tight ball game.

Gil Encarnado was gunned down at third with one out in the first inning. Jeffrey Hardillo led off the sixth inning with a double, but was hang out to dry down the third base line with two outs in a rundown. Hardillo also failed to hustle to first after lofting an eighth inning pop-up that bounced off the glove of Shoemakers catcher Junifer Pinero and was eventually forced out. And in the ninth, with one out and runners at first and second, Roel Empacis hit into an infield fly rule only to have Rizel Santos caught wandering toward third for a double play to end the game.

It certainly helped the Shoemakers cause as they had a couple of mental lapses on the basepaths as well.

"We should have scored more runs. The game was not supposed to be neck and neck if not for those [base-running blunders]," said Marikina skipper Randy Dizer who essentially summed up the way the game played out.

Neverthelss, Marikina pushed across a pair of insurance runs in the fifth inning when Apura reached third on successive Forward miscues and scored when Empacis airmailed one to the backstop. Nikko Dizer's two-out double later in the inning accounted for the final tally.

Empacis started for Taguig and was pitching for the first time this season. He surrendered three runs on four hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter. Ernesto Binarao followed with four effective innings of scoreless relief that did not matter due to the Forward's offensive ineptitude.

Earlier, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim pitched the ceremonial at bat — a novel departure from the traditional ceremonial pitch — prior to the game.

 

 

GAMEDAY

BP COVERAGE - WEEK 4

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