Bulls one away from sweep
by Jonas Terrado
Bulls 4, Dolphins 2
The Batangas Bulls are one win away from achieving a rare-peat in Baseball Philippines.
Despite the absence of RP team members Vio Roxas, Junifer Pinero and Chris Canlas, the Bulls got needed help from Ericson Eguia and reliever Romeo Jasmin and a couple of errors from the Cebu Dolphins to take a 4-2 lead.
Eguia blasted a one-run homer while Jasmin kept the shorthanded Dolphins from scoring an upset win to give Batangas its ninth victory in as many games.
Also key untimely errors made by Cebu during the contest that enabled the Bulls to pull away for good.
The Dolphins, playing minus RP team members Joseph Orillana, Fongs Rances and Jonash Ponce, fell to their second straight defeat for a 4-3 record for third place. They now trail the Manila (5-3) by a half-game for the second-and-last outright semifinals berth after the Sharks defeated Dumaguete, 10-9, in Marikina City.
Eguia drilled his second homer of the game when he broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning off Dolphins starter Sebastian Uichico.
After Cebu tied the game an inning later after Jerome Bacarisas scored from third off a throwing error by second baseman Jesse Natanauan, the Bulls threatened in the bottom half of the said frame.
Natanauan and catcher Jose Jose drew consecutive walks before designated hitter Mark Robert Seno hit a groundball to third baseman Jonard Pareja, who made a bad throw to first baseman Miggy Corcuera that enabled Batangas to score two runs for a 3-1 advantage.
The Dolphins' Edzel Atienza slashed the lead in half, 3-2, in the sixth on an RBI single to score Pareja but the Bulls' Jojo Apura made it a 4-2 game when he touched home plate off an error from Bacarisas, Cebu's starting shortstop, in the same inning.
From there, Jasmin, who came in relief of Batangas starter Vladimir Eguia, took charge by holding off the Dolphins to just one hit in the last three innings of work to secure the victory.
It was another solid performance for the Adamson University hurler, who has helped stabilized the strong pitching lineup of the Bulls in Series 5. He came over from Alabang (formerly Muntinlupa Mariners) in an offseason deal.
Uichico earned the loss after giving up three runs and five hits in five innings of work while Lefty Jeffrey Ardio pitched three shutout innings in relief.