Green Batters cement S86 Finals berth against UST

The top-seeded De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Batters kept their three-peat hopes alive after securing their spot in the UAAP Season 86 Finals after a 6–4 victory over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Sox.

Lord Aragon De Vera took the lead in terms of scoring his hits, with three out of their eight originating from him.

The run of the Lasallians, though, originated from the efforts of JM Segui in the fourth inning, in which he capitalized on the initial 2–1 lead the Green Batters mounted in the first two innings.

Three runs in total came in from Segui, Shinji Kajihara, and De Vera consecutively, building up the team’s lead to 4–1.

Though the Golden Sox attempted to sway the results their way with two points in the fifth inning and one point in the last inning respectively, their team failed to restrain the pursuit of the Green Batters.

Another notable performance was that of pitcher Peter Nonaillada, who started and finished the game, staying solid despite comeback attempts by UST.

“More on hittings at saka defense talaga. Ang pitchers namin andun na; maganda yung depensa. Yun nga panibagong match-up na naman to for Finals na. Mas tapangan pa nila dito kasi yung will to win ng isang player, ‘yung champion by heart, sabi ko ilabas niyo na dito.” Stated the back-to-back champions’ coach, Joseph Orillana. “Ganyan maglaro ung isang champion para mas maging masarap sa feeling deserving sila manalo kasi na experience na nila.”

The DLSU Green Batters is the first team to reach the Finals in the UAAP Season 86 Baseball Championship. With this, they now await their opponent from the winner of the National University vs Ateneo de Manila University match.