University of Santo Tomas dethroned Ateneo 4-3 in a pulsating finish Tuesday morning to capture the UAAP juniors baseball crown at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Pitcher John Regalado struck out Daniel Fabella with runners at second and third as the Junior Golden Sox completed their comeback from an early 2-0 deficit and capture its second title in three years.
Regalado fanned 11 batters in a complete game outing to earn the Finals Most Valuable Player award.
The Junior Golden Sox bounced back from absorbing a 15-3 drubbing by the Blue Eaglets in the best-of-three opener last week by taking a 7-3 win in Game 2 last Saturday.
Coach Jeffrey Santiago’s team also produced three runs in the fifth inning that enabled UST to gain a 4-2 lead.
Ateneo’s Matt San Juan was named season MVP aside from claiming the Best Hitter and Best Slugger honors, but his bid to end his high school career with another championship was denied by UST.
Leadoff man Marcel Guzman scored on a passed ball and San Juan doubled to score Fabella from second to help the Blue Eaglets jump aboard first.
But Brian Daniel Camarsi to score Jester Tapia from second to narrow UST’s deficit to 2-1 in the third. His bloop single with no outs in the fifth allowed Alwyn James Pinero to score the tying run to set up the Junior Golden Sox’s onslaught.
-JONAS TERRADO
