Mayagüez, Caguas & Ponce notch wins in winter league

Mayagüez (5-8) showed why they might not be in fourth place for long.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Mayagüez Indians, Caguas Criollos and Ponce Lions were all winners on Tuesday night in a trio of games in Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC by its initials in Spanish).

Isan Díaz homered and Anthony García delivered timely hits as the Indians (Indios) defeated the Santurce Crabbers, 7-2.

Despite the loss, the Crabbers (Cangrejeros) remained in first place in the standings with a 10-3 record. Mayagüez, meanwhile, sits in fourth place at 5-8.

Díaz finished the night going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while García went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI. Their performances helped the Indians bounce back from two straight losses.

The Indians scored early in the game. With one out in the first inning, Eddie Rosario hit a ground ball to right field that he stretched into a double. Rosario advanced to third on a pop-up by Emmanuel Rivera and scored the first run of the game on a single by García.

The Crabbers came out aggressively in the second inning, with Rubén Castro and Brian Rey hitting consecutive singles, while Shed Long Jr. laid down a perfect bunt to load the bases. A sacrifice fly to left field by Johneshwy Fargas brought in Castro.

Four consecutive hits gave the Tribe their second lead of the game in the fourth inning. García, the designated hitter, led off the bottom of the fourth with a double. Then Díaz singled to put runners on the corners, and Mario Feliciano drove in García with the second hit of the inning to center field, making it 2-1. Danny Ortiz then drove in two more runs with the Indians’ eighth hit of the game, extending the lead to 4-1.

An inning later Díaz homered to right field with García on base to make it 6-1.

An error by pitcher Edwin Sánchez in the eighth inning allowed the Indians’ seventh run to score. Santurce scored their second and final run of the game on a single by Long Jr. in the ninth.

Right-hander Patrick Halligan (1-1) earned the win after shutting down the Cangrejeros and striking out three batters in two innings of relief. Meanwhile, left-hander Juan Hillman took the loss, allowing four runs in three innings.

In Carolina, six Ponce pitchers combined to shut out the Giants 1-0 at Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium.

With the win, the Lions moved into sole possession of second place in the standings with an 8-5 record. Carolina dropped to third place at 7-6.

Right-hander Orlando Ortiz-Mayr allowed three hits in his four-inning start, while Harold Cortijo, Eric Torres, Andrew Marrero, Gabriel Rodríguez and Lenny Torres Jr. continued his work out of the bullpen. Cortijo earned his second win, pitching one inning in relief, and Torres Jr. recorded his second save of the season.

The Lions scored their only run in a third inning in which the Giants’ defense committed two errors. Aldemar Burgos led off with a single. Dalton Guthrie then hit a ground ball that rolled into left field, driving Burgos home for a 1-0 lead.

The loss went to left-hander Jonathan Bermúdez (0-1), who allowed Ponce’s run during his three and two-thirds innings of work.

Finally, the Criollos halted the San Juan Senators’ winning streak from last week with a 9-1 victory at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

Although the Senators (Senadores) finished last week with three consecutive wins, they remain in last place in the standings with a 4-9 record. Meanwhile, Caguas is tied with the Mayagüez for fourth place at 5-8.

The only run for San Juan came on a double by Randal Díaz to left field in the third inning.

The Criollos evened the score in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Jonathan Morales. With two outs, Caguas got to reliever Ivan Houellemont as Bryan Torres singled to drive in the second run. A wild pitch made it 3-1.

Caguas secured the victory with a six-run rally in the ninth, highlighted by singles from Torres and Nelson Velázquez, a sacrifice fly by Vimael Machín, and a double by Morales.