Off-Season’s Greetings: Games of January 20

A home run for Logan Wade.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Twins:  Willians Astudillo (Anzoategui) was 1-for-4.

ANZOATEGUI 4, LARA 2 IN LARA

Rene Reyes hit a two-run homer in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie.   Daryl Thompson pitched five innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out two.  For Lara, Alex Romero was 3-for-4.  Junior Guerra pitched 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks.

Anzoategui leads the championship series 1-0.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

CULIACAN 4, NAVOJOA 0 IN NAVOJOA

Joey Meneses hit a two-run homer in the first and Andy Wilkins hit a two-run homer in the third.  Anthony Vasquez pitched a complete game shutout, giving up just one hit and one walk and striking out seven.  He threw 95 pitches.  Navojoa's lone hit was a single by Alejandro Gonzalez leading off the first inning.  So, in a sense, Vasquez pitched nine no-hit innings, although he obviously does not get credit for a no-hitter.

Culiacan leads the championship series 1-0.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 2, GIGANTES 0 AT GIGANTES

Edwin Espinal homered in the fourth and Alfredo Marte homeredf in the fifth.  It was the third homer for Espinal and the second for Marte in the post-season.  Francisley Bueno pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and a walk and striking out three.

ESCOGIDO 12, LICEY 4 IN LICEY

Escogido led 5-0 after two innings.  Licey cut the margin to 5-4 after four, but Escogido scored three in the seventh, one in the eighth, and three in the ninth.  For Escogido, Franchy Cordero was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a walk, driving in three.  Ronny Paulino was 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs.  Chris Roberson was 2-for-4 with two walks and three runs.

Licey, 11-7
Aguilas, 9-9
Escogido, 9-9
Gigantes, 7-11

If I understand things correctly, this concludes the round-robin portion of the playoffs.  The top two teams are supposed to play in a championship series.  Licey is obviously one of them.  Escogido is at the Aguilas Sunday afternoon to determine the other team.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

Twins:  Aaron Whitefield (Brisbane) was 1-for-6 with a double and two walks.  Logan Wade (Brisbane) was 1-for-6 with a two-run homer (his seventh) and a walk.

CANBERRA 2, SYDNEY 0 IN SYDNEY (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Cameron Warner doubled home a run in the second and Travis Witherspoon doubled one home in the sixth.  Frank Gailey struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.  For Sydney, Matthew Rae struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on three hits and six walks.  Sydney had just one hit, a double by Michael Suchy in the first inning.

CANBERRA 13, SYDNEY 5 IN SYDNEY (GAME 2)

Leading 2-1 after four, Canberra scored four in the fifth and three in the sixth to take control.  Jay Baum was 3-for-6 with a triple and two doubles, scoring three times and driving in three.  David Kandilas was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a walk, scoring four times and driving in three.  Cameron Warner was 3-for-5 with a double.  Boss Moanaroa was 2-for-3 with four RBIs.  Lake Bachar struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks.  For Sydney, Michael Suchy was 3-for-3 with a home run (his sixth), two doubles, and a walk.  Zac Shepherd was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, his third.

BRISBANE 9, PERTH 5 IN BRISBANE (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Brisbane scored three in the first and led all the way.  Wade Dutton was 2-for-3 with a home run (his seventh) and a double.  T. J. Bennett hit a home run, his fourteenth.  Logan Wade hit a home run, his seventh.  Adam Weisenburger hit a home run, his sixth.  For Perth, Robbie Glendinning was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and a double.  Jake Fraley hit a home run, his twelfth.  Luke Hughes hit a home run, his eleventh.

PERTH 5, BRISBANE 0 IN BRISBANE (GAME 2)

Perth scored four in the third to break a scoreless tie.  Luke Hughes was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer, his twelfth.  Garrett Whitley was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Nick Veale struck out seven in 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and three walks.  The lone Brisbane hit was a single by Chih Sheng Lin leading off the seventh.

MELBOURNE 4, ADELAIDE 3 IN MELBOURNE

Ryan Dale hit a two-run homer in the second to give Melbourne a 3-2 lead.  It was 4-3 after four but Adelaide only once got a man to second base after that.  For Melbourne, Michael Crouse hit a home run, his fifth.  Tyler Neslony hit a home run, his seventh.  Ryan Dale hit a two-run homer, his second.  Mark Hamburger struck out six in six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Twins:  Kennys Vargas (Mayaguez) was 0-for-4.

MAYAGUEZ 6, SANTURCE 4 IN MAYAGUEZ

Trailing 4-3, Mayaguez scored three in the eighth to go into the lead to stay.  Randy Ruiz was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Felix Baez struck out seven in five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks.