Carolina Ponce & Santurce win in LBPRC

Anthony Calarco delivered the walk-off heroics, singling in the 10th inning to lift the Lions to a 2–1 win over the Mayagüez Indians at Francisco “Paquito” Montaner Stadium.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Carolina Giants, Ponce Lions and Santurce Crabbers all closed Saturday with victories as the 2025–26 Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC) regular season heads down the stretch.

A five-run outburst in the third inning po

wered the Carolina Giants to a 6–2 victory over the Caguas Criollos, sealing Carolina’s berth in the postseason.

With the win, the Giants secured third place in the standings, improving to 20–19. The Criollos slipped to fourth at 19–20 but remain very much alive in the race for the final playoff spot.

Caguas struck early with three hits in the first inning, capped by Nelson Velázquez’s two-run single to right field. That would be all they could manage against starter R.J. Martínez, who earned the win to improve to 4–2 after five solid innings. The right-hander allowed four hits, struck out four and issued two walks.

Carolina answered emphatically in the bottom of the third, capitalizing on its patience against veteran left-hander Héctor Santiago. Catcher Miguel Pabón sparked the rally with a leadoff single, followed by a bunt from Steven Ondina that resulted in an error. After a sacrifice fly by Gabriel Cancel moved the runners, Santiago lost the strike zone, issuing three consecutive walks to Abimelec Ortiz, Johnathan Rodríguez and Felix Stevens to force in the tying runs.

With the bases still loaded, Deniel Ortiz delivered a clutch single to give the Giants a 4–2 lead. Santiago was lifted, and reliever Roel Ramírez allowed a sacrifice fly to Jan Hernández, extending Carolina’s advantage to 5–2. Pabón later added his third hit of the night, driving in the sixth run in the eighth inning.

Santiago (1–3) took the loss, surrendering five runs—three earned—in 2.1 innings. Ricardo Vélez notched his fourth save for Carolina with two scoreless frames.

In Ponce, Anthony Calarco delivered the walk-off heroics, singling in the 10th inning to lift the Lions to a 2–1 win over the Mayagüez Indians at Francisco “Paquito” Montaner Stadium.

The playoff-bound Lions improved to 23–16, while Mayagüez fell to 18–21, remaining in fifth place, one game behind Caguas. The Indians must win their finale and hope for a Criollos loss to force a tiebreaker scenario.

The game featured a classic pitching duel between starters Ashton Goudeau (Mayagüez) and Bryant Salgado (Ponce) through six innings. Ponce scored first in the seventh on a balk, while Mayagüez tied it in the eighth via a bases-loaded walk. Harold Cortijo (3–1) earned the win, and Carlos Francisco (2–1) took the loss.

Meanwhile, the Santurce Crabbers defeated the San Juan Senators 4–1 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Santurce, the league’s undisputed leader, improved to 26–13, while eliminated San Juan dropped to 11–28.

After San Juan struck first, Yohandy Morales tied the game with a solo homer in the fourth. Santurce broke it open in the seventh with three runs, fueled by a sacrifice fly, an RBI double and a fielding error. Jason García earned the win in relief, Chavez Fernander picked up his first save, and Francisco López was charged with the loss.