MANILA - The Cebu Dolphins are going to the Baseball Philippines Championship Series.
Tony Olayvar's two-out rbi-single to left field off Jeffrey Sinangote in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Cebu Dolphins a thrilling 8-7 win over the Dumaguete Uni-bikers and a ticket to the Baseball Philippines Championship Series.
The South Division champion Dolphins open the best-of-three BPCS on Wednesday against the North Division champion Manila Sharks.
Olayvar, who entered the game with a measly .143 batting average and only one rbi all season, got the biggest hit of his baseball career with a drive that nearly cleared the left field wall and sent Emerson Atilano home for the winning margin.
Atilano reached on a one-out single that sent losing pitcher Jay Aranzanzo to the showers. Sinangote, who had given up just one earned run on six innings over two relief appearances this season, got the call from the bullpen. Atilano stole second and after Jerome Bacarisas walked, both runners advanced on Saxon Omandac's groundout, setting up Olayvar's heroics.
The thrilling final act made what was initially a slugfest almost an afterthought.
Cebu, the league's top-ranked offense, dispatched of Uni-bikers starter Meljon Aranzanzo four batters into the game on three hits and three unsightly errors on one sequence.
Nico Uichio led off with a single and scored on Atilano's rbi-double. Bacarisas followed with an rbi-triple and scored when Omandac reached on shortstop Denver Largo's errant throw. On the same play, catcher Lito Pulgo and second baseman Christopher Dela Cerna uncorked wild throws allowing Omandac to score and put Cebu ahead 4-0.
Sibling Jay Aranzanzo then took over, but walked Olayvar and one out later gave up Jeffrey Ardio's sacrifice fly to give the Dolphins a 5-0 lead.
The lead would be short-lived as the Uni-bikers put up a five-spot of their own two innings later off Dolphins starting pitcher Omandac.
Largo and Pulgo set the table with back-to-back walks to open the third. Kelly Culubong followed with a two-run triple and scored in the ensuing action on catcher Miguel Baroque's misplay on the relay to pull Dumaguete within 5-3. One out later, after Francsico Ramos had doubled and Dela Cerna singled to send Omandac off the mound, Jay Aranzanzo roped a two-run single off reliever Seung Jun Ha to even the score.
The Dolphins regained the lead in their half of the third. Jordan Orobia led off with a single, advanced to third on Ardio's single, and scored one out later on Seung Jun's rbi-groundout.
Dumaguete surged ahead with two runs in the next frame. Largo singled and two outs later Marlon Caspillo belted his second homerun of the season to give the Uni-bikers a 7-6 lead.
But the Dolphins tied the game anew in the bottom of the fourth. Uichico was hit by a Jay Aranzanzo pitch, moved to second on a fielder's choice, and scored on Bacarisas' run-scoring single.
The Uni-bikers' Jay Aranzanzo and the Dolphins' Seung Jun would settle down thereafter, exchanging zeros on the board over the next four and half innings before each gave way in the ninth.
Bacarisas earned the win after he relieved Seung Jun with a runner on and one out in the ninth, issued a two-out intentional walk to Ramos, and with the go-ahead run on third induced Dela Cerna to ground out and end the potential winning rally.
Jay Aranzanzo absorbed the loss. He went 8 1/3 innings, surrendered five hits, four runs, three earned, walked four, and struck out three.
| Sat, Dec 15, 2007 | ||||||||||||
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Dumaguete | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 5 |
| Cebu | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| WP: BacarisasJ (1-1) LP: AranzanzoJ (2-2) | ||||||||||||