Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos 6, Algodoneros de Union Laguna 2 – Four runs in the top of the first gave the Tecos all the offense they would need, as they held on to take game five and secure a 4-1 series win over the Algodoneros.
With the win, Dos Laredos advances to the Serie Campeonato for the Zona Norte, where they will face the winner of the series between Monclova and Monterrey.
Ali Castillo’s RBI single scored Cade Gotta for a 1-0 Tecos lead in the top of the first, and Castillo scored on a double by Yadiel Hernandez to make it 2-0. An error at third base by Union Laguna’s Jonathan Villar allowed Hernandez and Kennys Vargas to score for a 4-0 lead before Tecos starter Nate Antone had thrown a pitch.
Staked to an early lead, Antone threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
Jonathan Schoop homered in the fourth for Union Laguna, a small blemish on Antone’s outing, and the Algodoneros managed to get just three runners on base after the fifth inning, with Tecos relievers Sam Bordner and Arnaldo Hernandez combining to throw 3 2/3 scoreless innings.
Sultanes de Monterrey 4, Acereros de Monclova 3 – An RBI double in the ninth inning by Ramiro Pena sent Javier Salazar home with the winning run as the Sultanes took a 3-1 series lead over the Acereros.
The teams traded homers early in the game, with Pena staking the Sultanes to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a solo homer.
Monclova’s Magnueris Sierra tied teh game in the bottom of the fifth with a solo shot, and an inning later, the Acereros took a 3-1 lead on a two-run homer by Balbino Fuenmayor.
Christian Villanueva’s two-run homer in the top of the eighth scored Asael Sanchez and tied the game at three apiece.
Monterrey starter Julio Teheran allowed three runs, two of them earned, on six hits, striking out four in 5 2/3 innings of work.
Game five of the series is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. EDT in Monterrey, where Jorge Tavarez will start for Monclova against Monterrey’s Stephen Tarpley.
