Cangrejeros sweep at Bithorn; Ponce & Carolina win in LBPRC

The Crabbers set an attendance record for an opening game at Hiram Bithorn and are 2-0 to start the winter league baseball season.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Carolina Giants, Ponce Lions and Santurce Crabbers all notched wins on Saturday night in the opening weekend of the 2025-26 Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League season.

The Crabbers (Cangrejeros) walked off against the Caguas Criollos 4-3 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Hato Rey, breaking the attendance record for an opening game with more than 15,000 fans.

First baseman Spencer Packard lined a single to center field, driving in Rubén Castro and breaking a 3-3 tie in the ninth inning.

The Cangrejeros now have a 2-0 record, while the Criollos fell to 0-2.

For the second straight game, the Cangrejeros’ first run came off the bat of Shed Long Jr. This time, he drove in Johneshwy Fargas with a sacrifice fly to left field in the third inning.

The Criollos took control in the fourth inning. Nelson Velázquez led off with a double to left field. A wild pitch from Cangrejeros starter Juan Hillman then advanced Velázquez to third, while Vimael Machín drew a walk. With runners on the corners, Luis Vázquez hit his second home run of the season and Caguas led 3-1.

Santurce evened the score with a pair of runs in the eighth inning. Pinch-hitter Jeremy Arocho and Johneshwy Fargas drove in the runs with a double and a sacrifice fly, respectively.

The win went to Miguel Mejía (1-0) after he pitched one inning, while the loss was charged to José Espada (0-1), who allowed two hits, gave up Packard’s run, and issued two walks in one inning.

In Carolina, a sacrifice fly by Josh Hatcher in the 10th inning gave the Giants (Gigantes) a 1-0 victory over the Mayagüez Indians (Indios) at Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium.

For the second consecutive night, the tie-breaker rule was activated for the regular season, which places a runner on second base for both teams at the start of each inning, with no outs, if the game is tied at the end of the ninth inning.

The Giants started the bottom of the tenth with Abimelec Ortiz on second base, but he was replaced by pinch-runner Ryuta Hirose. The Indians’ left-handed reliever, Efraín Nieves Jr., walked Deniel Ortiz and then got Jan Hernández to pop out to left field. However, on a tag-up play, Hirose reached third, putting Carolina runners on the corners. Ezequiel Pagán then reached first on interference by the Indians’ catcher, Shawn Ross to load the bases. Hatcher’s flyball then allowed Hirose to score the winning run.

The win went to left-hander R.J. Martínez (1-0) after he pitched a scoreless inning. Nieves Jr. (0-1) took the loss, allowing one run in two and a third innings. During his outing, he struck out two, walked two and gave up one run.

In Ponce, a five-run rally in the ninth inning gave the host Lions a 9-5 victory over the San Juan Senators at Francisco “Paquito” Montaner Stadium.

Four of those five runs came on a grand slam by Anthony Calarco. Ponce improved to 1-1. San Juan fell to 0-3.

The Senators’ (Senadores) first two runs came early in the game on a single to left field by Yariel González and an error by Lions (Leones) catcher Sammy Hernández on a turnaround attempt by Kenen Irizarry at third base.

Ponce figured out Senators starter Taishi Mameda’s pitches in the third inning. The Lions loaded the bases with two outs, and Dalton Guthrie drew a walk to force in the first run for the hosts, making it 2-1.

After that, both teams traded runs before Roby Enríquez homered to left field to give San Juan a two-run lead in the fourth inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Lions designated hitter Yeniel Laboy lined a single to center, driving in Sammy Hernández and making the score 3-2.

San Juan scored its fourth run in the seventh inning when Kenen Irizarry grounded out to second base, driving in Alan Marrero. In the bottom of the seventh, the Lions came knocking again, scoring a run on a single by John Montes to make it 4-3.

An RBI double by Shinya Hasegawa extended San Juan’s lead to 5-3 in the eighth inning. In the bottom of the inning, Edwin Díaz put the ball in play to third base, and a fielding error allowed Jesmuel Valentín to score Ponce’s fourth run.

The win went to Pinto (1-0) after he pitched one-third of an inning, while the loss was charged to Alexander Castro (0-1), who allowed all five runs in the ninth inning.