Winter Ball Roundup: Caguas Evens LBPRC Series; Mazatlan to LAMP Finals With Game 5 Win; Gigantes Win Title In Nicaragua

Staff Reports
World Baseball Network

The Gigantes de Carolina thumped the Criollos de Caguas 10-4 in game four of the LBPRC championship series in Puerto Rico, evening the best-of-nine series at two games apiece.

Carolina got two runs in the first and second innings and three in the third and fourth to jump out to a 10-1 lead early.

JC Escarra, who recently signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees, had an RBI double in the top of the frist for Carolina, who added him as a reinforcement after the Leones de Ponce were eliminated. Escarra went 2-for-5 with two RBI, the second coming on an RBI single in the top of the second.

Batting out of the nine hole, Delvin Perez hit a two-out, three run homer in the top of the fourth for Carolina.

The LBPRC championship series continues with game five on Wednesday night at 6:15 p.m. All LBPRC games are streamed live via the league’s facebook page.

Venados Shut Out Tomateros to Win Series – The Venados de Mazatlan advanced to the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico championship series, shutting out the Tomateros de Culiacan in game five of their semifinal series 4-0.

Odisramer Despaigne threw seven scoreless innings for Mazatlan, allowing three hits and striking out four. Third baseman Alex Liddi went 1-for-5 with two RBI that came on a two-run single in the top of the ninth to secure the Venados’ victory. Daniel Castro contributed a solo homer in the top of the seventh for Mazatlan.

The LAMP championship series will begin on Jan. 20, when the Venados de Mazatlan visit the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at 9 p.m. EST. Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico games can be streamed via Extrabase.tv for a fee.

All Four Teams Still Alive In LIDOM – With two games remaining in the 18-game LIDOM round robin, all four teams remain alive after the fourth-place Gigantes del Cibao defeated the Estrellas Orientales 4-1 on Tuesday night and the Leones del Escogido pulled into a secon-place tie with the Tigres del Licey, beating Licey 8-1.

Henry Urrutia went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk for the Gigantes, who improved to 6-10 and are two games back of the Tigres del Licey and the Leones del Escogido.

Starter Johnny Cueto went 2.2 innings for the Estrellas, allowing one run on five hits and one walk.

In the other LIDOM game Tuesday night, the Leones del Escogido got out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, getting runs on a bases-loaded walk to Franmil Reyes and pair of sacrifice flies by Yamaico Navarro and Pedro Severino. They’d added five more runs and cruise to an 8-1 victory to secure the tie for second place with two games remaining.

The Leones del Escogido face the Gigantes del Cibao at 6 p.m. EST Wednesday. The Tigres del Licey host the Estrellas Orientales at 6:30 p.m. EST. All LIDOM games are streamed live on MLB.tv with a paid subscription.

Tigres de Aragua Thump Tiburones to Stay Alive in LVBP – Leadoff man Keyber Rodriguez went 5-for-6 with four runs scored, and No. 2 hitter Yonathan Mendoza went 2-for-6 with five RBI to keep the Tigres de Aragua alive in the LVBP round robin.

The win improved the Tigres’ record to 4-8, two games back of the second-place Cardenales de Lara and one game back of the Leones del Caracas and Bravos de Margarita, who are tied for third at 5-7.

There are four games remaining for each team in the round robin, with the Tiburones having secured a berth in the championship series Monday night. La Guaira’s record is 10-2.

The Cardenales de Lara face the Tiburones de La Guaira and the Tigres de Aragua face the Leones del Caracas on Wednesday night. Both games start at 6 p.m. EST and can be streamed via Beisbolplay.com with a paid subscription.

Gigantes de Rivas Capture LBPN Title – The Gigantes de Rivas captured the Liga Beisbol Profesional Nacional title Tuesday night, defeating the Tren del Norte 7-4 in game six of the league’s championship series in Nicaragua.

The Gigantes won the final three games of the series, and Francisco Peguero was named MVP of the championship series. He batted .393,with two home runs, 10 RBI, and led the series in hits, doubles, home runs and RBI.