Matanzas Team Clinches Berth in Second Stge of National Baseball Series

HAVANA, Cuba, dec 15 (acn) Matanzas, current runner up, appears today as the first qualified for the elite stage of Cuban Baseball Championship in its 54th edition, after winning 7-2 over Sancti Spiritus.

Cionel Perez earned his fifth win of the season by allowing five hits and striking out six batters in seven innings, and he was offensively supported by shortstop Dainer Moreira, who hit 5 for 5 with three runs scored and an RBI.

With only five games to close the preliminary round, the Matanzas Crocodiles were ratified on top of the standings with 27 wins and only 13 losses, unreachable already by the team of Villa Clara (20-19), ninth, six games behind the leaders.

Precisely the Villa Clara Oranges kept alive their options to grab one of the eight qualifying tickets by beating 4-2 Ciego de Ávila; the reliever Yosvani Perez took the win and the veteran first baseman Ariel Borrero hit 2 for 3 with a homer and three RBIs.

The Holguin Hounds (20-18) remained seventh when defeating Mayabeque 4-1, thanks to strong pitching performance from starter Ernesto Hernandez, who only allowed two hits in seven innings, and was backed up by Geidis Soler, 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

Santiago de Cuba (21-19) surpassed by tight margin 2-1 Las Tunas and now appears eighth; Ulfrido García was the winner and there was offensive highlight by the catcher Alberto Díaz and second baseman José Silveira, with an RBI per capita.

Also, Pinar del Río (17-19) fed their options to qualify to the elite stage by defeating 6-2 Cienfuegos to retain the tenth seat in match marked by excellent pitching performance by lefty Julio Alfredo Martínez and batting highlight of Lorenzo Quintana and Olber Peña, with two RBIs per capita for the cause of the current monarchs.