UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas took solo second in the UAAP Season 79 Baseball Tournament after dispatching reigning champion De La Salle, 11-6, on Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The Golden Sox pounced on an erratic Green Batters defense in the third inning as they scored seven runs before Ron de la Cruz struck out four La Salle batters in the final two innings.
“Medyo nakascore kami ng malaki sa third inning ... Then yung pitcher namin si Dela Cruz, matigas yung braso niya and nahold niya. Yun yung panalo namin," UST head coach Jeffrey Santiago said.
UST improved to 5-2 while dropping La Salle to a share of third with Adamson at 4-3.
Santiago added it is still too early to celebrate as the Golden Sox have yet face top team Ateneo in the second round.
"Sabi ko as mga bata, maaga pa para mag-celebrate. Marami pa ang aming assignments kaya tuloy pa ang ensayo," he said.
Ateneo beat National University, 9-3, to remain in first place with a 6-1 card. The Blue Eaglets led 7-0 after six innings and never looked back.
Adamson dominated University of the Philippines, 15-5.
Standings: ADMU 6-1, UST 5-2, DLSU 4-3, AdU 4-3, NU 2-5, UP 0-7.