The Leones de Ponce looked dead in the water following an 8-4 loss in Game 4 of the LBPRC championship series against the Cangrejeros de Santurce. They faced a 4-0 series deficit leading into Game 5. Luckily for the Leones, the series is best-of-nine, not the traditional best-of-seven.
The hope of advancing to the Caribbean Series is still alive, but there is still a lot of work to be done for Ponce. Their 7-0 victory in Game 5 at Estadio Francisco Montaner in Ponce, Puerto Rico, could build the groundwork.
Ponce’s pitching staff kept a hot Santurce offense dead quiet for nearly nine innings, losing a combined no-hitter with two outs in the ninth. Starter Bryant Salgado threw six no-hit innings and struck out seven. The only thing that stood in the way of Salgado and a perfect outing was hitting Jeremy Arocho with a pitch during the first at-bat of the game.
Jalen Miller came on in relief of Salgado in the seventh inning, throwing two flawless frames. Cangrejeros center fielder Johneswhy Fargas spoiled the fun with two outs in the ninth, hitting a line drive against reliever Andrew Marrero that bounced in front of center fielder Aldemar Burgos.
Meanwhile, the Leones’ offense was firing on all cylinders. Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Ponce plated five runs, and four of them on one swing. First baseman William Simoneit followed Sammy Hernandez’s RBI single with a towering grand slam over the left-field wall off Cangrejeros reliever Andrew Baker.
Five Cangrejeros pitchers (Baker, Eduardo Rivera, Chavez Fernander, Miguel Martinez and Jason Garcia) struck out 12, but walked five in the contest. Salgado, Miller, and Marrero combined to strike out nine.
Matt Bottcher’s RBI single in the eighth added an extra insurance run to make it 7-0 in favor of the Leones. Simoneit’s four-run round-tripper and the pitching staff’s performance potentially uplifted the spirits of the Estadio Francisco Montaner crowd.
Their favorite team is down, but not out.
The LBPRC championship series resumes Tuesday at 6 p.m. EST at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Where to Watch: Puerto Rico’s LBPRC streams its games live on its YouTube page and on the league’s official app, available on the App Store and Google Play.
WBN Puerto Rico: https://worldbaseball.com/league/puerto-rico/
