GAMES OF JANUARY 7
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
ANZOATEGUI 13, LA GUAIRA 2 IN LA GUAIRA
Leading 3-2, Anzoategui scored six in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk for Anzoategui, scoring twice and driving in four.
Anzoategui leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.
MARGARITA 2, LARA 1 IN MARGARITA (16 INNINGS)
Lara scored in the third, Margarita scored in the fifth, and that was it until the sixteenth, when Jesus Aguilar's two-out single brought home Junior Sosa with the winning run. Omar Bencomo pitched seven innings for Margarita, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Jose Osuna was 5-for-6 with two walks for Margarita. Aguilar was 4-for-8. Sosa was 3-for-5 with three walks and an RBI. Lara used thirteen pitchers and Margarita used nine.
Margarita leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
GIGANTES 7, ESCOGIDO 6 AT GIGANTES
Pedro Lopez doubled home a run in the top of the eighth to put Escogido up 6-5, but RBI singles by Nelson Cruz and Maikel Franco gave the victory to the Gigantes. Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run for Escogido. Franco was 3-for-4 with a walk for the Gigantes, scoring twice and driving in two.
STANDINGS
Aguilas, 8-1
Gigantes, 3-5
Licey, 3-5
Escogido, 3-6
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
SANTURCE 11, CAROLINA 0 IN SANTURCE
Leading 2-0, Santurce had an eight-run inning to take control of the game. Darin Downs pitched four shutout innings for Santurce, giving up two hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
Santurce leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.
CAGUAS 5, MAYAGUEZ 4 IN MAYAGUEZ
Randy Ruiz hit a three-run homer in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead and held on from there. Mayaguez had the tying run in scoring position in the seventh and ninth but could not bring him home. Eddie Rosario was 2-for-4 with a double for Mayaguez, scoring twice and driving in one. Benji Gonzalez was 1-for-3 for Mayaguez. Kennys Vargas was 1-for-4 for Mayaguez. Dereck Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning for Mayaguez, giving up two walks with one strikeout. John Brownell pitched 5.2 innings for Caguas, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
Mayaguez leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
LOS MOCHIS 4, MAZATLAN 3 IN MAZATLAN
With the score tied 3-3 in the seventh, Sebastian Valle doubled, went to third on a bunt, and scored on a sacrifice fly to give Los Mochis a lead they held the rest of the way. Leandro Castro was 0-for-4 for Los Mochis. Mazatlan out-hit Los Mochis 15-5 but stranded thirteen men.
Los Mochis wins the best-of-seven series 4-1.
CULIACAN 6, HERMOSILLO 2 IN HERMOSILLO
Culiacan scored one in the first and then got a single run in each of innings five through nine to win the game. Daniel Rodriguez struck out seven in six innings for Culiacan, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk.
Culiacan leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.
NAVOJOA 8, MEXICALI 6 IN MEXICALI
Quincy Latimore hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fourth that put Navojoa in the lead to stay. Mexicali closed to 8-6 in the seventh and had the tying run on base in the seventh and the eighth. Jesus Castillo was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk for Navojoa, scoring once and driving in three. Niko Vasquez also homered for Navojoa.
Mexicali leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.
GAMES OF JANUARY 8
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
No games scheduled.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
AGUILAS 6, ESCOGIDO 2 IN ESCOGIDO
The Aguilas scored one in each of the first three innings and got three in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Danny Santana was 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI for the Aguilas. Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4 for Escogido. Jose Urena pitched five innings for the Aguilas, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk with one strikeout. Samuel Deduno used his magical zoomball to pitch two perfect innings for the Aguilas, striking out two.
LICEY 2, GIGANTES 1 AT GIGANTES (12 INNINGS)
It was 1-1 after four and stayed there until the twelfth, when Yamaico Navarro drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on a Hanley Ramirez single. The Gigantes used ten pitchers and Licey used nine. Jason Rogers was 3-for-5 with a double for Licey.
STANDINGS
Aguilas, 9-1
Licey, 4-5
Gigantes, 3-6
Escogido, 3-7
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
CAGUAS 2, MAYAGUEZ 1 IN CAGUAS (12 INNINGS)
A bases-loaded walk to Rey Navarro with two out in the twelfth produced the literal "walk"off win. Eddie Rosario was 1-for-5 for Mayaguez. Kennys Vargas was 0-for-5 for Mayaguez. Benji Gonzalez was 0-for-4 for Mayaguez. Orlando Roman pitched six hitless innings for Caguas, allowing just one walk and two strikeouts. Randy Ruiz was 3-for-5 with an RBI for Caguas.
The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2.
SANTURCE 2, CAROLINA 0 IN CAROLINA
Santurce scored single runs in the second and sixth. J. J. Fernandez was 0-for-3 for Carolina. Adalberto Flores pitched five shutout innings for Santurce, giving up four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Abiatal Avelino was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI for Santurce.
Santurce leads the best-of-seven series 3-1.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
MEXICALI 6, NAVOJOA 4 IN NAVAOJOA (10 INNINGS)
Navojoa led 3-0 after three, but it was tied 4-4 after five and Mexicali got two in the tenth to take the game. Jon Del Campo was 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI for Mexicali. C. J. Retherford hit a home run for Mexicali.
Mexicali wins the best-of-seven series 4-2.
HERMOSILLO 5, CULIACAN 4 IN CULIACAN
Culiacan took a 4-0 lead in the fourth, but Hermosillo got three in the fifth and scored two unearned runs in the seventh to win. Barry Enright pitched seven innings for Hermosillo, allowing four unearned runs on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
The best-of-seven series is tied 3-3.
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE
CANBERRA 6, ADELAIDE 1 IN ADELAIDE
Already leading 2-1, Canberra got two-run doubles from Robbie Perkins and River Stevens in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach. Scott Cone pitched 4.1 innings for Canberra, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with one strikeout.
MELBOURNE 5, BRISBANE 1 IN MELBOURNE
James Beresford's two-run single in the fifth broke a scoreless tie and Melbourne led the rest of the way. Sam Gibbons pitched two shutout innings of relief for Melbourne, giving up three hits and no walks with no strikeouts. Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-4 with a double for Brisbane and is batting .342. Logan Wade was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI for Brisbane and is batting .314.
PERTH 7, SYDNEY 6 IN PERTH (11 INNINGS)
Perth had leads of 2-0, 4-2, and 6-4, but Sydney came back to tie it each time. They apparently have a rule in the Australian League that, after ten innings, each team starts its inning with men on first and second. Sydney failed to score even with that advantage, but two errors produced the winning run for Perth. Tim Kennelly was 3-for-5 with a double for Perth, scoring once and driving in one.