Caguas, Carolina & Ponce earn victories in LBPRC

Sammy Hernández had a hit in each of his at-bats as the Ponce Lions defeated the Santurce Crabbers 4-2 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Hato Rey on Saturday night.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Caguas Criollos, Carolina Giants and Ponce Lions all earned victories in Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC by its initials in Spanish) games on Saturday night.

Outfielder Nelson Velázquez drove in four runs to lead the Criollos to a 4-1 victory over the San Juan Senators (Senadores).

It was the fourth consecutive win for the Criollos, who now have a .500 record at 11-11. Meanwhile, the Senators remain in last place in the LBPRC with a 7-14 record.

The Criollos set the pace for the game in the first inning, scoring two runs in their first four at-bats, keyed by Velázquez’s double to left field. Then in the third inning, it was the Caguas cleanup hitter’s two-run home run that extended the lead to 4-0.

The Senators didn’t get on the board until the eighth inning, when Calvin Estrada scored on a ground-rule double by Jadiel Sánchez.

Luke Taggart (4-0) picked up the win after pitching two scoreless innings in relief. The right-hander allowed one hit and struck out three. José Espada earned the save by pitching a scoreless ninth. The loss went to Rubén Ramírez (1-1), who gave up all four of the Criollos’ runs in five innings.

Elsewhere, the Giants (Gigantes) secured a 6-5 victory over the Mayagüez Indians (Indios) at Isidoro “Cholo” García Stadium in Mayagüez.

Carolina extended its winning streak to three games and improved to 10-12. Mayagüez (10-10) dropped to fourth place in the standings.

The Giants attacked the Indians’ pitching early when, in the second inning, Steven Ondina singled to center field, driving in Ryuta Hirose and Miguel Pabón to put Carolina up 2-0. Mayagüez answered quickly in the bottom of the inning. After loading the bases, Martín “Machete” Maldonado hit an RBI single and Robbie Merced hit a ground ball for an RBI force out to tie the game at 2-2.

In the fifth inning, Carolina’s bats spoke again against reliever Lucas Vega as the Giants scored four runs courtesy of a double by Johnathan Rodríguez, a single by Ezequiel Pagán, a bases-loaded walk, and a sacrifice fly by Miguel Pagán, making the score 6-2.

The Indians narrowed the deficit to 6-5 in the top of the eighth with RBI singles from Emmanuel Rivera, Anthony García and Isan Díaz.

The win went to left-hander R.J. Martínez (2-2), who allowed two runs on four hits in his five-inning start, in which he struck out seven. Right-hander Ren Mukunoki earned his second save. The loss went to Vega (2-1), who gave up the four runs in one-third of an inning.

Finally, catcher Sammy Hernández had a hit in each of his at-bats, and left-hander Kazuto Taguchi looked solid on the mound as the Lions (Leones) defeated the Santurce Crabbers (Cangrejeros) 4-2 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Hato Rey.

Even with the loss, Santurce remains at the top of the winter league standings with a 14-8 record, followed by Ponce in second place at 12-9. Hernández went 4-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. Meanwhile, Taguchi (3-2) allowed two hits, struck out two, and walked two in his six-inning outing.

The Lions scored all four of their runs on doubles. The first of the three two-baggers came off Hernández’s bat in the second inning to give Ponce a 2-0 lead. In the fourth inning, Hernández and Matt Bottcher each hit RBI doubles to extend the lead over the Crabbers to 4-0.

Santurce scored its two runs in the seventh inning on a single by Jeremy Arocho and a sacrifice fly by Spencer Packard.

Taguchi picked up the win for Ponce, while right-hander Andrew Marrero earned his sixth save of the season. The loss went to right-hander Collins Wiles (0-1), who allowed all four of the Lions’ runs in four innings.