UAAP Baseball First Round

Ateneo swept the first round of the 2012 UAAP Baseball Championship with a win over arch rival La Salle 8-4. Observers were quick to bring up the possibility of a clean sweep bringing a first ever baseball championship for Ateneo.

The Blue Eagle team has certainly been the most powerful offensive team so far. Their first four batters- Adrianne Bernardo, Kevin Ramos, Charles Catangui and Matt Laurel all rank among the top hitters in the league. This group has been supported by Paco Tantuico and Dio Remollo. The only potential weakness is in their pitching as Ateneo has shown early over reliance on Adrianne Bernardo. Bernardo has had some support with quality innings from Tantuico.

La Salle was greatly affected in their match against Ateneo by critical errors. The quality of their pitching staff has shown through. Four pitchers have been rotated, Carlos Munoz, Carly Laurel, Paolo Mallari and Basti Uychico. Only the loss to Adamson showed a potential gap in pitching. No other team has this depth. Jay Laurel and Paolo Mallari have lead the hitting but the rest of the team will have to do its share for La Salle to have a shot at the championship.

National University, the pre tournament favorite in 2011 also has pitching depth. Aris Oruga pitched two consecutive shut outs, 2-0 against Adamson and 3-0 against UST. He now merits strong consideration as the league's best pitcher after this performances. But NU coach Saki Bacarisas will have spread the work load among his other key pitchers- Gante and Turaray. NU hitters have been quiet up to now. Philippine team players Alfredo Olivares and Ramsey Alipio along with Bryan Lumbres and Jezreel Rosita have to get their bats going.

UST seems to have lost its way after losing the first game to La Salle in extra innings. A 2-3 record certainly indicates they still have a chance but they are barely hanging in. Their key pitchers Amber Plaza and Irvin Tuazon are doing a great job but in this league two reliable pitchers are not enough. At this point they appear to be overworked. The Golden Tigers' bats, Arvin Plaza, Kasulhay Argel and Nikko Reyes have not been making noise at this point.

Adamson was not expected to contend with their young but promising team. But their pitchers have been delivering. Their hitting, particularly in their win over La Salle, has delivered, but failed in their 2-0 loss to NU.