The Road to Mexicali: Tigres del Licey Keep Winning; Both Lower Seeds Win Game 1 In LAMP Semifinals

LIDOM

Tigres del Licey (7-2) 5, Leones del Escogido (5-4) 4 – Sergio Alcantara tied the game with a solo homer in the top of the ninth, and then Cristhian Adames drove in Luis Barrera for the winning run with a sacrifice bunt. Troy Johnston opened the scoring for Licey with a two-run homer in the third. Socrates Brito went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a solo homer for the Leones. The win gave the Tigres a 2 1/2 game lead over the Leones with seven games remaining in the round robin.

Estrellas Orientales (5-4) 8, Aguilas Cibaenas (1-8) 7 – Abraham Almonte’s sixth inning grand slam punctuated a six-run inning, and Oscar Hernandez went 3-for-4 with three RBIs as the Estrellas sent the Aguilas to their eighth loss in nine games. Harold Ramirez did all he could, going 4-for-5 with four RBIs for the Aguilas.

Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional

Tigres de Aragua (3-8) 4, Bravos de Margarita (7-5) 3 – Alcides Escobar and Jesus Sucre had RBI doubles in the second to get Aragua a two-run lead, and Eduardo Escobar drove in the game-winner with a seventh inning single as the Tigres won their third game of the round robin. Lorenzo Cedrola went 4-for-5 with two runs scored for Aragua.

Cardenales de Lara (8-3) 15, Aguilas del Zulia (5-6) 6 – Lara posted eight runs in the seventh, having eight batters get consecutive hits before the Aguilas could record an out, and every Cardenale in the starting lineup recorded at least one RBI. Four Lara relievers combined to hold Zulia hitless over the final four innings.

Liga Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente

Criollos de Caguas 8, Indios de Mayaguez 2 – Nelson Velasquez hit a grand slam in the second inning that gave the Criollos all the offense they’d need, but that didn’t stop him from hitting a solo homer in the sixth — and another in the eighth. Kennys Vargas hit a two-run single for Caguas, which evened the best-of-seven series at two apiece.

Senadores de San Juan 3, Cangrejeros de Santurce 1 – Jan Mercado’s sacrifice bunt sent Jadiel Sanchez home with the winning run in the seventh, and Brantley Bell’s RBI single in the eighth gave the Senadores insurance as they took a 3-1 lead in the series. Starter Miguel Martinez went 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run on nine hits and walking one for San Juan.

Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico

Caneros de Los Mochis 5, Tomateros de Culiacan 3 – Xorge Carrillo hit into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded, hitting a ball to center that resulted in a force play at third while Yasmany Tomas hustled in with the go-ahead run in the seventh. Tomas added an RBI single in the eighth as the Caneros took a 1-0 lead in hte best-of-seven series.

Charros de Jalisco 2, Naranjeros de Hermosillo 0 – Starter Manny Banuelos allowed five hits and struck out two over five innings of work, and the Charros bullpen allowed two hits and a walk over the final four innings to maintain the shutout as Jalisco took a 1-0 series lead. An errant pickoff move by Hermosillo starter Damian Mendoza allowed Daniel Castro to score the Charros’ first run in the sixth, and Alfredo Hurtado drove in Jack Mayfield with a double in the seventh.

Tonight in the Winter Ball Playoffs
All times Eastern Standard Time

LIDOM
3 p.m. – Aguilas Cibaenas (1-8) at Leones del Escogido (5-4)
4 p.m. – Tigres del Licey (7-2) at Estrellas Orientales (5-4)

Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional
4 p.m. – Margarita (5-4) at Lara (8-3)
4 p.m. – Zulia (5-6) at Aragua (3-8)

Liga Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente
6 p.m. – Caguas at Mayaguez (Series tied 2-2)
6 p.m. – San Juan at Santurce (San Juan leads series 3-1)

Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico
7 p.m. – Jalisco at Hermosillo (Jalisco leads series 1-0)
7 p.m. – Los Mochis at Culiacan (Los Mochis leads series 1-0)