Havana, December 16 (JIT) -- Industriales repeated this Friday the whitewashing of leader Matanzas (2x0) and Sancti Spíritus and Las Tunas saved face in the closing of the antepenultimate sub-series of the II Elite League of Cuban Baseball.
After falling six times in a row against the Cocodrilos, the Havana team signed a couple of unthinkable defeats against the most powerful lineup of the championship, in terms of names and offensive averages.
In the farewell of the bilateral duel, the trio of pitchers formed by the winner Islay Sotolongo (6.0 IP, 3H, 2K, 3BB), Frank Herrera (2.0 IP, 2H, 2K) and the savior Juan Xavier Peñalver (1.0 IP, 2K) contributed the 16th win in 32 games for the Leones, who share the third and fourth places with the espirituanos.
Designated Walter Pacheco drove in the first run with a double in the second inning. Oscar Valdés put the other one on the board of the emblematic Latin American Stadium with a run through the box with the bases loaded against the pitcher Elier Carrillo.
Artemisa and Santiago de Cuba lost the opportunity to complete sweeps, losing to Sancti Spíritus and Las Tunas, respectively.
The Gallos beat the Cazadores 4x3 in a challenge saved by Yanielquis Duardo, leader in that category (8) and third in the historical ranking of Cuban championships, tied with Miguel Lahera (76).
Also reliever Yunier Batista (2.0 IP, 1H, 1BB) contributed the hit for the Gallos, while Erlis Casanova took the loss, despite covering all the way waiting for the reaction of his teammates.
The decision of the game came in the fourth inning, after two outs and the bases were cleared, when the espirituanos hit four hits, including a two-run homer by Juan Miguel Martínez. He then scored on Juan Carlos Arencibia's jit.
After scoring a pair of runs, the Cazadores fell victim in the opening inning of the first triple play of the championship.
The legendary Fréderich Cepeda hit 3-3 with a home run. He became the second batter to surpass 2,400 hits in Cuban baseball, behind Dánel Castro (2487), according to Benigno Daquinta's statistics.
At the conclusion of this match, the complete sub-series between Gallos and Cazadores ended in a four-win tie.
In the other match of the day, the Leñadores defeated the Avispas santiagueras 6x4, although both teams are still out of the classification zone.
A pair of runs in the eighth inning broke the four-game tie, brought in by Osvaldo Abreu's homer. Rescuers Rodolfo Díaz scored the game-winner and Alberto Pablo Civil was the closer.
The league's top home run hitter, Rafael Viñales (8), sent two runners to the rubber and also confirmed his leadership in towers (31).
With eight games left to conclude the preliminary phase, Matanzas is still in the lead with a 19-13 record, followed by Artemisa (17-15), Sancti Spíritus and Industriales (16-16), Las Tunas (15-17) and Santiago de Cuba (13-19).
