Double-A opens postseason with sectional semifinals.

The Double-A Superior Baseball League sectional semifinals, opening with a full slate of games this weekend, will be played in a best-of-five format with the first round determining the 16 teams that will advance to the finals of the league’s eight sections.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Double-A Superior Baseball League postseason kicks off this weekend with the sectional semifinal series -- the first stage on the road to the Puerto Rico championship.

Of the 45 teams that began the season in February, 32 squads remain in the running for the first of five postseason phases.

The subsequent steps in the playoffs will be the sectional finals -- the “Carnival of Champions” -- the national semifinals, and the championship final.

The sectional semifinals will be played in a best-of-five format, with the first team to secure three victories advancing to the next round.

The first round will determine the 16 teams that will advance to the sectional finals across the league’s eight sections.

Games began on Thursday night with the Section B semifinal series in the North Division between the Atenienses of Manatí and the Tigres of Hatillo at Félix Mantilla Stadium in Isabela.

The remaining series are slated to begin on Friday. As part of the schedule, the opening weekend will feature three games per series.

Ticket prices remain set at $9, available through the EventosPR.com platform.

During the postseason, the automatic tie-breaker rule will not apply; therefore, any game tied in the ninth inning must continue until a winner is determined.

Likewise, the time limit rule will not be in effect, meaning all matchups must be played to completion, recording the standard 27 outs.

In the event of a rain delay occurring before the seventh inning, the game must be resumed and completed at the same stadium where it was halted. If the delay occurs from the seventh inning onward, the game will resume the following day at the visiting team’s ballpark. Once that game has concluded, the next scheduled game of the series will begin 45 minutes later.

Meanwhile, the Poetas of Juana Díaz will play as the home team at Francisco “Paquito” Montaner Stadium in Ponce during their South Section semifinal series against the Peces Voladores of Salinas. Poetas owner Adolfo Rodríguez said the decision was made primarily to ensure greater comfort for the fans during the postseason.

Juana Díaz enters the postseason as the leader of the South Section with a 13-7 record, having achieved one of the most significant turnarounds of the regular season after they failed to reach the postseason in 2025.

The Peces Voladores have dominated the South Section for five consecutive seasons.