Adamson Baseball falls short in tight endgame, forced into Final Four playoff
Date Posted: April 23, 2025 at 01:40 PM
Adamson University’s Final Four hopes were put on hold after a narrow 7-8 loss to Ateneo de Manila University in a walk-off finish during their last elimination round game of the UAAP 87 Baseball Tournament, Wednesday morning at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Photo: UAAP Media Team
Poised to clinch a semifinals berth, the Soaring Falcons entered the ninth inning with a slim 7-6 lead, but a late rally by the Blue Eagles, capped by a two-RBI walk-off blooper from Angelo Bernardo, turned the tables and handed Adamson its sixth loss of the season.
Despite a gritty eighth-inning surge that saw John Mark Tupig spark a three-run rally with a triple, and heads-up baserunning from John Matanguihan, Joao Severino, and Lawrence Mercado to snatch a brief lead, the Falcons couldn't hold off Ateneo’s final push.
Adamson now ends the elimination round with a 4-6 record and will move into a do-or-die playoff for the last Final Four slot against University of the Philippines.
The Falcons had their chances, especially in the latter innings, as Matanguihan went 3-for-6 at the plate while Severino and Mercado added two hits each.
Rommel Bacalla stepped up with 8 1/3 innings of solid pitching after starter James Nisnisan was pulled early, however, the bullpen could not close out the game.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
AdU 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 7 10 1
Ateneo 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 8 9 3
