COLICEBA Carnival of Champions begins this weekend

The Atléticos of Barranquitas captured the final spot in the COLICEBA postseason Carnival series by defeating the Tigres of Aguas Buenas 8-7 in 11 innings.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Atléticos of Barranquitas secured the final spot in the 2025-26 COLICEBA postseason Carnival series on Wednesday night, defeating the Tigres of Aguas Buenas 8-7 in the 11th inning at Pablo Marrero Ortiz Stadium in Barranquitas.

This victory determined the eight teams that will advance to the penultimate stage of the tournament.

Aguas Buenas jumped out to an early lead with five runs in the second inning, and was one out away from victory, leading 7-6 in the ninth, when a single by Barranquitas’ Melvin Rodríguez drove in the tying run, sending the game into extra innings.

In the bottom of the 11th inning, again with two outs, an error by Tigres third baseman Luis Curbelo allowed Edgar Santiago to score the winning run, sending the Atléticos to the next round.

The win in relief went to Joel Huertas, who pitched three flawless scoreless innings. For Aguas Buenas, Jean Pagón pitched six innings in relief and took the loss.

The Carnival begins this weekend with four series, all scheduled for a maximum of five games. The first weekend will feature two games per series, starting this Friday at 8 p.m. with the Azucareros of Yabucoa visiting the Ganduleros of Villalba, and the Jardineros of Aibonito visiting the Marlins of Ceiba.

On Saturday, the action continues at 7:30 p.m. with Villalba vs. Yabucoa (in Humacao), Ceiba at Aibonito, Guayanilla at Arroyo, and Barranquitas vs. Dorado (in Cataño).

On Sunday, starting at 5 p.m., Arroyo will travel to Guayanilla and Dorado will visit Barranquitas.