Patriots rally from three down in the 9th, beats Bulls, 8-7 by Jonas Terrado
(Photo - Jayzee Teofisto)Patriots 8, Bulls 7
The trend of the current Baseball Philippines Series 4 tournament has been comeback victories and the Forward Taguig Patriots joined the bandwagon.
Unlike the rallies made by the Dumaguete Uni-Bikers and the Muntinlupa Mariners, the Patriots need just one inning to achieve the feat, climbing back from a three-run deficit to stun the Batangas Bulls, 8-7.
In perhaps a blessing from above, catcher Melvin de Castro got some help from a sudden rainfall when he hit a bases-loaded, two-run double with one out off losing pitcher Randy de Leon to help give the Patriots an unexpected win.
The victory earned the Taguig batters win their third straight to move into a tie for second place with the Muntinlupa Mariners at 3-1.
Muntinlupa was forced to take a Sunday off after the rain prevented them and the Dumaguete Uni-Bikers to play their scheduled third match. It will be rescheduled at a later date, if the game will have an effect in the team standings.
Down 7-4 entering the Taguig's final at-bat, Ferdinand Recto got himself on base after Batangas third baseman Alex Tolome bobbled a groundball before playing coach Ricky Jimenez was issued a walk.
With runners on base, left-handed batter Roel Empacis delivered a single that scored Recto before fellow RP team mainstay and Taguig's top star Ernesto Binarao drilled a bouncer past second baseman Jesse Natanauan that pushed home his coach, cutting the margin to a single run.
A sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Jeffrey Hardillo for the game's first out moved Empacis and Binarao to third base while Badrina was issued an intentional walk.
When the rainfall came and with Batangas head coach Randy Dizer pulling his outfielders in to prevent the third base runner to score on a sacrifice fly, de Castro drilled a two-ball, one-strike pitch from de Leon that sailed far behind leftfielder Teddy Landicho scoring Empacis and Binarao as the Patriots celebrated the game-winning hit.
Fernando Badrina, who replaced started Ronaldo delos Reyes, was adjudged as the winning pitcher after pitching five innings and gave up six hits that resulted in three runs. He pitched the last three innings scoreless that helped Taguig's comeback bid.
The Bulls suffered their third straight to drop to 1-3, but remains ahead of the last place Manila Sharks for fifth place in the team standings.
Batangas was poise to take the win after taking a 5-1 lead off an RBI single by Nikko Dizer before the Patriots slashed the margin to a single run after Recto drilled a two-run double and Jimenez belted an RBI single in the fifth frame.
But newly-acquired veteran Chris Canlas added some cushion for the Bulls in the sixth, hitting a two-run single that scored Carlo Banzon and Vio Roxas.
Earlier, Landicho broke a 1-1 tie for the Bulls in the second on a single to right that scored catcher Junifer Pinero while Roxas, the Series 3 Most Valuable Player, drilled a two-run double for a 4-1 margin.
Batangas' ace hurler Vladimir Eguia could have been given the win, had his team not blew a comfortable lead. The 20-year old southpaw threw six innings and fanned five batters despite yielding nine hits and four runs.
He was replaced by de Leon to be eligible for the next game. League rules prohibit a pitcher to throw the next game if he goes beyond the six inning maximum limit.
Empacis singled thrice in four times he batted and had three RBIs to lead the Patriots.
Jimenez opted to rest Binarao's arm, enabling delos Reyes to start the game. However, he yielded four runs in four innings that prompted Badrina's entry.
The Patriots will take on the Dumaguete Uni-Bikers at 1030am this Saturday in a rematch of their quarterfinals meeting in Series 3. Batangas, meanwhile, plays Manila in the first game at 7am.