Sharks stun Bulls at start of RP baseball Series VI

Manila leaned on its strong start and rookie MJ Gante’s solid pitching as the Sharks stunned defending champion Batangas Bulls, 5-4, at the start of the Dunkin Donuts- Baseball Philippines Series VI on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Field.

The Sharks quickly tagged Bulls starting pitcher Vladimir Eguia with four runs on two hits then Gante presereved the win by keeping Batangas at bay. "Having a strong start help us get the needed momentum. My hats off also to Gante, a young rookie pitcher who held the forth for five innings," said Manila team manager Joel Palanog. Francis Candela, who went 2-of-4, singled while Saxon Omandac boarded on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the first inning. Song Chung Wang loaded up the bases after being hit by a pitch. Nino Tator, with one out, had a bases-clearing double then scored Manila’s fourth run off a wild throw by Batangas’ Erickson Eguia. Mick Natividad, starting for the Sharks, was in control for two innings but lost his poise in third where he allowed the Bulls to score three runs behind Virgilio Roxas and Jojo Apura’s consecutive RBI doubles. Not wanting to let the game slip away, Palanog replaced Natividad with Gante and the 17-year-old responded by shutting down Batangas in the next five innings. Veteran Charlie Labrador closed out for Manila after Gante reached the mandatory 50-pitch count enforced by the league so he can start or play in their next game. Randy De Leon, with no outs, led off the ninth getting on base off an error. He later reached home off another wild throw. Labrador struck out rookie Charles Catqangiu but sent the tying run to first after hitting Perlos Remollo by a pitch. Remollo, a member of the national junior team, advanced to second off a Teddy Landicho sacrifice fly. Alden Lozada ended the game when he caught Chris Canlas’ fly at right field. Despite the loss, Bulls team manager Randy Dizer remains optimistic in the Bulls chances of winning their second straight and third overall crown. "Eguia had a sluggish start and we had a number of errors that cost us the game. I know that any team in the league can beat any team in a given day but I still believe we remain as the team to beat. I know the players will bounce back in our next games." – GMANews.TV