Comerío, Carolina, Juncos and Yabucoa advance to the Double-A semifinals
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
The Comerío Pescadores del Plata, Carolina Gigantes, Juncos Mulos, and Yabucoa Azucareros will compete in the semifinals of Puerto Rico’s Double-A Superior Baseball League, which begins on July 10.
The Pescadores del Plata secured first place with a 9-0 shutout over the Hormigueros Libertadores, combining the pitching efforts of Alexis Ortiz, Joziel Carmona, Maykol García, Víctor Vargas, and Héctor Baerga at Carlos Bonet Stadium.
Carmona earned the victory after tossing one inning in relief. José “Pocholo” Rivera blasted a home run and drove in three runs. The loss went to Omar Meléndez, who allowed five runs over five innings.
Meanwhile, the Gigantes clinched the second semifinal berth with a 6-3 victory over the Yabucoa Azucareros, thanks to six scoreless relief innings from Héctor Quiñones.
It was Quiñones’ second consecutive relief appearance of the weekend. He struck out five batters and allowed just two hits to earn the win. Marcos Santa took the loss after surrendering three runs in 2.1 innings.
Ozzie Martínez and Enok Pérez homered for the Gigantes. Pérez went 2-for-3 with five RBIs.
The Mulos defeated the Coamo Maratonistas 6-1 behind 7.2 strong innings from standout left-hander Luis Cintrón and a home run by Luis Román at Mariano “Niní” Meaux Stadium. Jeremy Aponte was charged with the loss after allowing three runs in three innings.
Elsewhere, the Hatillo Tigres closed out their season with a 3-1 victory over the Sabana Grande Petateros at Rafael Milán Padró Stadium. Both teams were eliminated from playoff contention, joining the Maratonistas and the Libertadores.
Erick Sepúlveda dominated with seven scoreless innings to earn the win, striking out three while allowing four hits. Walter Hernández took the loss after giving up three runs on six hits.
The Juncos Mulos franchise accepted the official ruling awarding Yabucoa an 11-1 victory in the suspended game from last Friday, which had been halted by rain. As a result, the makeup game originally scheduled for Sunday between the Mulos and Azucareros was canceled.
Following Saturday’s action, the Final Four matchups were officially set. Series A will feature the Juncos Mulos against the Comerío Pescadores del Plata, while Series B will pit the Carolina Gigantes against the Yabucoa Azucareros.
In addition, a meeting with the owners and managers of the four semifinal teams will be held tomorrow, July 7, at 5:00 p.m. at the offices of the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation.