Early runs make the difference for Ponce.  Carolina responds well to adversity.

PONCE 4, MAYAGUEZ 2 IN PONCE

Twins:  Kennys Vargas (Mayaguez) was 0-for-4.  Eddie Rosario (Mayaguez) was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.  Daniel Ortiz (Mayaguez) was 1-for-3.

Mayaguez:  Martin Maldonado (Milwaukee) was 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs.  Luis Figueroa was 1-for-4 with a run.

Ponce:  Henry Ramos (Boston) was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Jose Lozada (Washington) was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Joel Piniero pitched 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with one strikeout.

The game:  In the first inning, Ramos drove in two with a ground-rule double and Lozada singled in one to give Ponce a 3-0 lead.  There was no more scoring until the sixth, when Lozada singled in another to make it 4-0.  In the seventh, Maldonado got Mayaguez on the board with a two-run single.  They had the tying run at bat then and in the ninth but did not score again.

CAROLINA 4, SANTURCE 3 IN SANTURCE

Carolina:  Ruben Gotay (Cincinnati) was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Jesus Feliciano was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  David Kopp struck out three in 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and no walks.

Santurce:  Christian Vazquez (Boston) was 1-for-3 with two walks and a double, driving in two.  Angel Morales was 3-for-4 with a double and a run.  Benigno Cepeda struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing no hits and one walk.

The game:  Vazquez doubled in a run in the third to give Santurce a 1-0 lead.  Carolina came right back in the fourth, as Feliciano doubled in a run, a run scored on a sacrifice fly, and Gotay homered to make it 3-1 Carolina.  In the sixth, Jack Lopez delivered an RBI single followed by a bases-loaded walk to tie the score.  Carolina once again came right back, scoring what turned out to be the winning run on an error. Santurce got the tying run to third base with one out in the eighth, but their last five batters were retired.