Strong pitching leads Licey to victory. Aguilas withstands a late rally.
AGUILAS 7, ESCOGIDO 5 IN AGUILAS
Twins: Jorge Polanco (Escogido) was 0-for-3 with a walk.
Escogido: Abraham Almonte (Seattle) was 2-for-3 with two walks and a run. Mauro Gomez (Detroit) was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
Aguilas: Dan Black (White Sox) was 2-for-2 with three walks and two runs. Jonathan Villar (Houston) was 2-for-2 with two walks and a run. Angel Castro pitched six innings, allowing two unearned runs on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
The game: Zoilo Almonte (Yankees) hit a two-run double in the fifth to put Aguilas ahead 4-2. In the sixth, Aguilas scored three times on a single, a walk, an error, a single, a wild pitch, another walk, and a sacrifice fly. It stayed 7-2 until the ninth, when Escogido scored three times but did not get the tying run on base.
CIBAO 4, ESTE 3 IN ESTE
Cibao: Omir Santos was 3-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two. Marcell Ozuna (Miami) was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.
Este: Cesar Puello (Mets) was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Robbie Ross (Texas) struck out seven in five innings, allowing one run on four hits and one walk.
The game: It was tied at two after seven. In the eighth, Cibao got two men on with walks, then got an RBI single from J. C. Linares (Boston) and an RBI double from Santos to take a 4-2 lead. In the ninth, Este got an RBI single from Puello, who stole second to move into scoring position with two out.
LICEY 6, ORIENTE 2 IN LICEY
Oriente: Alex Valdez was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Junior Lake (Cubs) was 2-for-4. Manauris Baez pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks.
Licey: Chris Marrero was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs. Julio Borbon (Cubs) was 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in one. Hector Noesi (Seattle) struck out ten in six shutout innings, allowing three hits and one walk.
The game: Licey scored one in the first, then got two in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead and get control of the game. A triple, two singles and a wild pitch produced the fifth-inning runs and four singles led to the two in the sixth.