GAMES OF JANUARY 11
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
LA GUAIRA 4, ARAGUA 2 IN ARAGUA
Jose Castllo's RBI single in the ninth broke a 2-2 tie and a wild pitch brought home an insurance run. Castillo was 3-for-4 with a walk.
That sets up the semi-final round, with La Guaira playing Lara and Zulia playing Anzoategui. Both series are best-of-seven.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
AGUILAS 6, LICEY 0 IN LICEY
Orlando Calixte's two-run triple capped a three-run first and the Aguilas led all the way. Danny Santana was 2-for-4 with a triple for the Aguilas, scoring once and driving in two. Chris O'Grady struck out six in five shutout innings for the Aguilas, giving up five hits and four walks.
ESCOGIDO 4, GIGANTES 2 AT GIGANTES
Escogido trailed 2-0 after four but scored one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and one in the seventh to win. Jorge Polanco was 0-for-4 with a walk and scored once for Escogido. Eury Perez hit a home run for Escogido.
STANDINGS
Aguilas, 10-2
Licey, 5-7
Escogido, 5-8
Gigantes, 4-7
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
CAGUAS 1, MAYAGUEZ 0 IN CAGUAS
The game's lone run was scored in the fourth on a hit batsman, a walk, a single, and another walk. There were only seven hits in the game, four by Mayaguez and three by Caguas. Eddie Rosario was 0-for-4 for Mayaguez. Kennys Vargas was 0-for-3 with a walk for Mayaguez. Benji Gonzalez was 1-for-3 for Mayaguez. John Brownell pitched seven shutout innings for Caguas, giving up three hits and a walk.
Caguas wins the series 4-2. That sets up the finals, which will be a best-of-nine series between Caguas and Santurce.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
LOS MOCHIS 5, CULIACAN 0 IN LOS MOCHIS
Los Mochis put together a single, a walk, and three more singles in the sixth, scoring three runs to take a 4-0 lead. Manny Barreda struck out ten in eight shutout innings for Los Mochis, giving up two hits and two walks. Leandro Castro was 3-for-3 with a home run for Los Mochis, scoring twice and driving in two.
Los Mochis leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.
MEXICALI 8, HERMOSILLO 7 IN MEXICALI
Hermosillo built a 7-2 lead through seven and a half, but Mexicali scored six runs in the eighth to win. Luis Juarez hit a three-run homer in the inning and the go-ahead run scored on a Yuniesky Betancourt single.
Mexicali leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE*
MELBOURNE 11, CANBERRA 1 IN CANBERRA
Allan de San Miguel hit a two-run homer in a four-run first and Melbourne cruised to an easy win. Mark Hamburger pitched a complete game for Melbourne, giving up one run on eight hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. de San Miguel was 5-for-5 with a double in addition to his home run, scoring twice and driving in six.
ADELAIDE 5, PERTH 1 IN ADELAIDE
Adelaide hit three home runs in a four-run sixth, giving it a 4-1 lead. Stefan Welch, Karl Hoschke, and Connor O'Gorman all had home runs in the inning. Zach Cooper struck out seven in six innings for Adelaide, giving up one run on five hits and two walks.
BRISBANE 9, SYDNEY 4 IN BRISBANE
Brisbane turned six singles into a five-run sixth that gave it a 6-0 lead. Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-5 and is batting ,345 for Brisbane. Logan Wade was 1-for-5 with a run and is batting .309 for Brisbane. Kramer Champlin pitched seven inning for Brisbane, giving up one run on three hits and no walks with six strikeouts. David Sutherland was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs for Brisbane. Mitch Nilsson hit a home run for Brisbane.
*Games played January 12. It's timey-wimey.
GAMES OF JANUARY 12
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
ZULIA 3, ANZOATEGUI 2 IN ANZOATEGUI
Three walks and an error plated two runs for Zulia, breaking a 1-1 tie and putting Zuila ahead to stay. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 0-for-3 with a walk for Zulia. Wilfredo Boscan pitched four innings for Zulia, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Anzoategui out-hit Zulia 10-2. The first two Zulia batters got hits, and Zulia did not get another hit the rest of the game.
Zulia leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.
LA GUAIRA 7, LARA 6 IN LARA
La Guaira took a 5-0 lead in the first, but needed an RBI double by Heiker Meneses in the ninth to get the win. Alcides Escobar hit two home runs for La Guaira.
La Guaira leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
LICEY 4, GIGANTES 1 IN LICEY
Jason Rogers had a two-run single in a three-run third that put Licey in the lead to stay. Cesar Valdez struck out six in 5.2 innings for Licey, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.
STANDINGS
Aguilas, 10-2
Licey, 6-7
Escogido, 5-8
Gigantes, 4-8
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
No games scheduled.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
LOS MOCHIS 14, CULIACAN 2 IN LOS MOCHIS
Already leading 3-1, Los Mochis scored seven in the seventh to put the game out of reach. They had four home runs in the inning, solo shots by Juan Carlos Gamboa, Eugenio Velez, and Yosmany Guerra, and a three-run homer by Saul Soto. Leandro Castro was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI for Los Mochis. Luis Niebla pitched six shutout innings for Los Mochis, giving up five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Velez and Gamboa were each 3-for-4 and each scored twice.
Los Mochis leads the best-of-seven series 2-0.
MEXICALI 16, HERMOSILLO 6 IN MEXICALI
Leading 1-0, Mexicali had an eight-run inning in the third to take control early. Yordanys Linares was 4-for-6 with a triple and a double for Mexicali, scoring three times and driving in two. C. J. Retherford was 3-for-5 with a home run and a walk for Mexicali, scoring twice and driving in two. Luis Juarez was 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs for Mexicali. Xorge Carrillo was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk for Mexicali, scoring once and driving in four.
Mexicali leads the best-of-seven series 2-0.
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE*
MELBOURNE 12, CANBERRA 6 IN CANBERRA
Melbourne lost leads of 3-0 and 6-3, but scored two runs in the fifth on three walks, a sacrifice fly, and a wild pitch to take the lead for good. Brad Harman was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk for Melbourne, scoring twice and driving in three. Liam Bedford 3-for-3 with a walk for Melbourne, scoring twice. Mike Walker hit a three-run homer for Melbourne.
SYDNEY 10, BRISBANE 9 IN BRISBANE
Sydney led 5-0 and 8-3, fell behind 9-8, and got a two-run single from Tucker Neuhaus in the eighth to go ahead 10-9. Aaron Whitefield was 1-for-2 with a run and is batting .347 for Brisbane. Logan Wade was 0-for-4 with a walk for Brisbane. Todd Van Steensel struck out two in a perfect inning for Sydney. Neuhaus was 4-for-5 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in seven for Sydney.
PERTH AT ADELAIDE
Rained out.
*Games played January 13. it's timey-wimey.