NEVER SAY DIE NU BULLDOGS SWEEP ARCH RIVAL DLSU GREEN BATTERS 9-6

IT ain't over 'til it's over.

The never -say- die National University Bulldogs put a historic stance in UAAP baseball with a back-to-back title.

The Bulldogs of team manager Wopsy Zamora completed a sweep against arch rival De La Salle University Green Batters, completing a come-from-behind 9-6 victory in Game 2 of the UAAP Season 87 Baseball Finals, Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.

The victory marked NU’s fifth baseball crown and sixth overall championship this season.

After trimming the deficit to three in the fourth inning, .2-5, the Bulldogs exploded for five runs in the fifth to seize the lead and never looked back enroute to victory.

The turning point came when Tuting Samuel hit two consecutive batters — Kenneth Maulit and Herald Tenorio — placing them on second and first, respectively. With a chance to close the gap, Maulit delivered a single just beyond the reach of Samuel on the right field, scoring his brother Kenneth.

Gio Gorpido followed with a sacrifice fly to bring Tenorio home, cutting the lead to one.

Finals MVP and graduating senior Nigel Paule then smashed an RBI double to level the game. The Bulldogs added two more runs, courtesy of Paule and pinch runner Lester Balon, who replaced Kyle Hardillo, to reach their uphill climb .

“We’re so relieved; we’re so happy. Hindi ko maipaliwanag ‘yung pakiramdam kasi nga history ‘to para sa NU,” said NU head coach Romar Landicho, now a two-time UAAP champion coach. “Yung puso at ‘yung mental toughness, pati ‘yung mentality na never give up — ‘yun talaga naging key in getting this win.”he added as he acknowledge the full support of the manaģement particularly team manager Zamora, his deputy mentors and the NU community.