GAMES OF DECEMBER 17
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
LA GUAIRA 10, MAGALLANES 8 IN LA GUAIRA
Magallanes scored five in the seventh to take an 8-5 lead, but La Guaira came back with five in the eighth to win the game. Yonathan Daza was 4-for-5 with a double for La Guaira, scoring three times and driving in two. Heiker Meneses was 3-for-5 with three doubles, scoring twice and driving in two for La Guaira.
ARAGUA 7, MARGARITA 1 IN ARAGUA
Juan Graterol hit a two-run homer in a five-run seventh that put the game out of reach. Leuris Gomez pitched four shutout innings for Aragua, giving up three hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
CARACAS 5, LARA 4 IN LARA
Jesus Aguilar hit a two-run homer (his eighth) in the eighth to give Caracas a 5-4 lead. Aguilar was 2-for-3 with a walk and scored twice.
ZULIA 3, ANZOATEGUI 1 IN ANZOATEGUI
Zulia scored two in the third to take a 2-1 lead they would not give up. Stephen Fife struck out six in six innings for Zulia, giving up one run on two hits and no walks. Jesus Flores hit a home run for Zulia, his fifth.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
ESCOGIDO 5, ORIENTE 2 IN ESCOGIDO
Escogido scored four in the second on two singles, helped by two walks and two wild pitches. Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4 for Escogido. Nik Turley started but pitched only one inning, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks with one strikeout for Oriente.
ESTE 5, AGUILAS 3 IN ESTE
Abraham Almonte's two-run double in the sixth broke a 3-3 tie and gave the victory to Este. Danny Santana was 1-for-4 for the Aguilas.
LICEY 2, GIGANTES 1 AT GIGANTES
Jhonatan Solano doubled and scored in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie. John Lannan pitched five innings for Licey, giving up one run on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Yamaico Navarro was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk for Licey.
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
SANTURCE 6, CAGUAS 1 IN SANTURCE
Santurce scored five in the fourth and was never challenged. Bryan Escanio struck out five in four shutout innings for Santurce, giving up two hits and a walk. Drew Ferguson hit a home run for Santurce.
AGUADILLA 3, CAROLINA 1 IN CAROLINA
Aguadilla got six singles and a walk in the first inning, and although they only scored three runs with them it was enough. J. J. Fernandez was 2-for-4 with a run for Carolina.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
JALISCO 6, HERMOSILLO 2 IN JALISCO
Leading 3-2, Jalisco scored three in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Tyler Alexander struck out nine in eight innings for Jalisco, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk. Jose Manuel Rodriguez hit a home run for Jalisco, his sixth.
LOS MOCHIS 8, OBREGON 2 IN OBREGON
Lew Ford hit a two-run homer in the first and Los Mochis led all the way. Manny Barreda struck out six in five shutout innings for Los Mochis, giving up two hits and three walks. Ford was 2-for-3 with two walks.
MEXICALI 5, MAZATLAN 4 IN MEXICALI (11 INNINGS)
Mexicali scored two in the ninth to tie it and C. J. Retherford delivered a two-out RBI single in the eleventh to win it. Yuniesky Betancourt was 3-for-5 with a walk and a run for Mexicali.
CULIACAN 4, NAVOJOA 1 IN NAVOJOA
Culiacan scored one in the second and two in the fourth and never trailed. Daniel Rodriguez struck out seven in seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk for Culiacan. Maxwell Leon was 3-for-5 with a double for Culiacan.
GAMES OF DECEMBER 18
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
ARAGUA 9, LA GUAIRA 2 IN ARAGUA
Hernan Perez hit a two-run homer in a four-run Aragua fourth that put them ahead 6-2. Yohan Pino pitched five innings for Aragua, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Perez was 2-for-5 with two runs and the homer was his third.
CARACAS 6, MARGARITA 4 IN CARACAS
Jesus Aguilar homered in the seventh to break a 4-4 tie and Caracas added an insurance run in the eighth. Danry Vazquez was 3-for-3 with a two-run homer (his third), a double, and a walk. Yandy Diaz was 3-for-4 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.
ANZOATEGUI 10, ZULIA 9 IN ANZOATEGUI
Anzoategui led 8-5 after eight, but Zulia scored four in the ninth to take a 9-8 lead. RBI singles by Niuman Romero and Ehire Adrianza won the game for Anzoategui in the bottom of the ninth. Romero was 4-for-5 with a triple for Anzoategui, scoring twice and driving in one. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his third) for Anzoategui, driving in four.
LARA 4, MAGALLANES 3 IN MAGALLANES
Jesus Montero hit a three-run homer in the fifth to put Lara up 4-2. Magallanes scored one in the ninth and had the tying and winning runs on base with one out but could not bring them around.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
ORIENTE 3, GIGANTES 1 IN ORIENTE
Oriente scored two in the first and never trailed. Chris O'Grady struck out five in five innings for Oriente, giving up one run on five hits and two walks.
LICEY 10, AGUILAS 2 AT AGUILAS
Licey scored a total of eight runs in innings two through five to control the game. Sergio Alcantara was 3-for-4 with a triple and a walk for Licey, scoring three times. Emilio Bonifacio was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk for Licey, scoring once and driving in three. Jason Rogers and Marco Hernandez each homered for Licey, with the Hernandez home run being his fourth.
ESCOGIDO 6, TOROS 1 IN ESCOGIDO
Ruben Sosa hit a two-run triple in the third and Escogido led the rest of the way. Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 for Escogido.
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
CAGUAS 3, AGUADILLA 1 IN AGUADILLA (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)
A walk, two singles, and a walk put Caguas ahead 2-1 in the fifth. Orlando Roman pitched four innings for Caguas, giving up an unearned run on two hits and no walks with two strikeouts.
CAGUAS 7, AGUADILLA 4 IN AGUADILLA (GAME 2--11 INNINGS)
Caguas scored three in the sixth to tie it 4-4, then got three more in the eleventh to win it. Aguadilla made two errors in the eleventh. Andrew Velazquez was 4-for-6 for Caguas, scoring twice and driving in two.
SANTURCE 4, MAYAGUEZ 1 IN SANTURCE
Santurce scored three in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie. Kennys Vargas was 1-for-3 with a walk for Mayaguez. Benji Gonzalez was 0-for-4 for Mayaguez.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
HERMOSILLO 11, JALISCO 1 IN JALISCO
Hermosillo got four in the third and five in the fourth to go ahead 10-0. Travis Blackley pitched seven innings for Hermosillo, giving up one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Carlos Alberto Gastelum was 3-for-6 with two doubles for Hermosillo, scoring three times and driving in two. Arturo Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with a run for Hermosillo. O'Koyea Dickson hit a two-run homer for Hermosillo.
MAZATLAN 2, MEXICALI 0 IN MEXICALI
Mazatlan got single runs in the sixth and seventh. Jeremy Kehrt pitched seven shutout innings, giving up six hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
LOS MOCHIS 3, OBREGON 1 IN OBREGON
Los Mochis scored two in the seventh to take a 2-1 lead an added an insurance run in the ninth. Roy Merritt pitched seven innings for Los Mochis, giving up one run on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Juan Carlos Gamboa was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Los Mochis.
NAVOJOA 13, CULIACAN 6 IN NAVOJOA
Leading 5-3, Navojoa put together and eight-run inning in the sixth to take control. Tony Thomas was 3-for-4 with a walk for Navojoa, scoring twice and driving in two. Jesus Castillo hit a home run for Navojoa, his sixth.
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE
CANBERRA 7, PERTH 2 IN CANBERRA
Scott Kelly tripled and scored in the first and Canberra led all the way. Sean Guinard pitched seven shutout innings, giving up five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Kyle Perkins hit a two-run homer for Canberra, his fifth.
MELBOURNE 5, SYDNEY 0 IN MELBOURNE
Allan de San Miguel hit a three-run homer (his fifth) in the first inning and Melbourne never trailed. Jon Kennedy struck out six in five shutout innings for Melbourne, giving up three hits and two walks.
ADELAIDE 6, BRISBANE 4 IN ADELAIDE
Marcus Greene's RBI single in the fourth put Adelaide up 5-4, a lead they would keep the rest of the game. Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk for Brisbane, scoring once and raising his average to .301. Logan Wade was 1-for-4 with a triple for Brisbane, scoring once and driving in one. His average is now .329.