Sweeps Mark First Series in Cuban Baseball

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 7 (acn) Matanzas, Industriales, Pinar del Rio and Ciego de Ávila made the most of the beginning of the second phase of Cuban baseball championship by completing sweeps in their respective commitments.

The Matanzas Crocodiles materialized the swept yester day when beating Granma 7-6, in a match decided in the ninth inning when the defeated pitcher Carlos Juan Viera committed error on a rookie Randy Camaraza´s ground ball with the bases loaded.
Yadiel Hernandez led the offensive of the winners by hitting 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs, together with the reinforcement Alexei Bell, who hit 3 for 5 with three runs scored, while Pedro Aguero took the win in relief role.
Pinar del Río emphasized its upward trend with easy victory 7-0 over Isla de la Juventud, in match marked by great pitching performance of the right-hander Vladimir Baños, with only three hits allowed in seven innings of work.
Outfielder Andrés Quiala totaled three RBIs to lead the attack of the defending champions of Cuban baseball tournament, who took advantage of the sweep to move up and now they share the fourth seat in the standings with their victims and Ciego de Ávila.
Precisely the Tigers knocked out 11-0 Holguin with offensive highlight by catcher Osvaldo Vazquez, 3 for 4 with two home runs and five RBIs, as well as José A. García, who also took off a homer and drove in two runs .
The ace pitcher Ismel Jiménez allowed four hits in six innings earning thus his sixth win of the season, while the also star Vladimir Garcia showed further signs of recovery by smoothly pitching one inning.
Finally, Industriales completed the sweep by defeating 7-2 Artemisa, with win for the rookie Raidel Orta and offensive highlight for veteran first baseman Alexander Malleta, author of a homer and two RBIs.
Matanzas leads with 34 wins and 14 losses, with five games ahead of the Granma (29-19), who now suffers the siege of Industriales (28-20), followed by Ciego de Ávila, Isla de la Juventud and Pinar del Rio (27-21), while Artemisa (25-23) and Holguin (23-25) appear further behind.