Winter Wonderland: Games of December 17-18

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.