GAMEDAY RECAP

Shoemakers Sink Mariners Hopes

Shoemakers 6, Mariners 4

MANILA - There will be no title run for the Makati Mariners in Series 2 after their 6-4 loss to the Marikina Shoemakers on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Mariners relief pitcher Chun Wang Song's bases loaded wild pitch allowed Ericson Eguia to score the tie-breaking and eventual winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Shoemakers advanced into the North Division Championship next weekend.

Marikina outscored the Mariners, 30-14 in completing a three-game season sweep of Makati.

Makati starting pitcher Editho Justo was locked in a nail-biter for the second time in as many games when he took the mound in the eighth inning after his teammates had pushed across the tying runs in the previous frame.

The former ace right-hander had a four-hitter going but ran out of steam when he gave up consecutive one-out singles to Eguia and Jay Laurel then walked Alvin Santos to load the bases.

Faced with a twice-to-beat Marikina disadvantage, Mariners skipper Jeffrey Santiago opted to bring in Song in favor of Sherwin Canlas, his projected starter for game 2 should Makati pull off a win.

Unfortunately Song had not pitched all season and the Korean right-hander's first pitch to Stefano Baltao sailed wildly to the left of catcher Jake Cumlat to give Marikina a 5-4 lead. Baltao then lofted a sacrifice fly for an insurance run to make it 6-4.

Marikina ace left-hander Vladimir Eguia then retired the side in order in a quiet ninth to seal the win.

Makati took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Loudemer Varilla opened the frame with a double and scored on Song's two-out rbi single.

Justo was sharp through the first three innings, retiring nine of the first ten Shoemakers before running into trouble in the fourth when Marikina capitalized on three Mariners errors.

Alex Tolome drew a lead-off walk. Nikko Dizer followed with a double. Ericson Eguia then rifled a grounder toward second baseman Varilla who opted to throw home but Tolome beat the relay and in the ensuing action, Cumlat threw errantly to first allowing Dizer to score with Eguia advancing to second. One out later, Justo misplayed a ball off the bat of Santos and Marikina had a 3-1 lead.

The teams traded runs in the sixth on rbi-singles by Cumlat and Santos.

The Mariners then pushed across the tying runs in the seventh. Justo stroked a one-out double and scored when Ace Baquiran reached on first baseman Baltao's fielding error. Song's run-scoring single one out later knotted the game heading into the decisive eighth.

Justo went 7 1/3 innings, was charged with six runs, four earned, walked three, and struck out four.

Vladimir Eguia pitched a complete game for Marikina and picked up the win. The workhorse gave up four runs, two earned, on seven hits, three walks, and struck out three. Eguia has pitched in every game this season and his 68 1/3 innings pitched tops all hurlers.

Marikina next faces the Manila Sharks in next weekend's North Division Championship. The Sharks hold a twice-to-beat edge by virtue of being the division's top seed.

 

 

GAMEDAY

BP COVERAGE - WEEK 10

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