ATENEO clobbered University of the Philippines, 15-2, in seven innings in the Philippine Baseball League on Sunday the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Javi Macasaet hit a triple to cap an eight-run sixth inning for the Blue Eagles, who placed second in the 2018 Hong Kong International Open last month.
Nacho Lozano allowed four hits in four innings with one strikeout, while rookie Luis Benedicto gave up just three hits while fanning two batters in two innings.
"I'm actually impressed with our starters. They were able to get us some time before our offense started to click," said first-year Ateneo head coach Bocc Bernardo.
"Then of course, Luis Benedicto, our rookie, was able to continue what Nacho was doing. It is very important for us to establish our bullpen before we enter the UAAP."
In the first game, former UAAP MVP and current DLSU Green Batters head coach Joseph Orillana continued to school the younger generation, leading the IPPC Nationals to a 19-7 win over the skidding Adamson Soaring Falcons.
Orillana had three runs batted-in, while Aids Bernardo had two.
La Salle improved to 2-0 with a 13-6 rout of University of Sto. Tomas.
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