Ciego de Avila closer to reach second round in Cuban baseball

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 14 (acn) Ciego de Avila took another step towards its primary objective of qualifying for the second round of the Cuban baseball championship when beating 4-1 Artemisa, achieving thus its 25th win of the season and ratifying itself as undisputed leader.

The starting pitcher Dachel Duquesne allowed eight hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts in eight innings, but the winner was the closer Yunier Cano, while Jose Adolis Garcia homered and drove in three runs.
Jonder Martinez allowed only four hits and struck out six rivals in eight innings, supported by the save of Adrian Sosa in Matanzas´ 1-0 win over Pinar del Rio, which with this result lost the second seat in the standings.
Industriales took advantage of Pinar del Rio´s loss and now appears second after beating 6-5 Mayabeque, with offensive highlight of Juan Carlos Torriente -2 for 4 with two RBIs- and Yulieski Gourriel, 3 for 5 including a double and a solo homer.
Granma lost 7-6 to Camaguey, in match marked by the offensive of rookie Yosbel Perez, who hit 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs to support the solid pitching performance of reliever and winner Ramon Robles, while Luis Ferrales homered for the defeated team.
Also, outfielder Yusniel Ibanez doubled twice and drove in three runs to lead Cienfuegos to an important 9-4 victory over Las Tunas, with the fourth win of the season for reliever Carlos Ramirez, while Ruben Paz homered for the losing side.
The two homers of Norel González were not enough to avoid Villa Clara to be defeated 5-4 by Guantanamo in a match marked by the effective relief of Lander Moreira and offensive highlight of Robert Delgado, 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs.
In addition, Sancti Spiritus returned to winning ways by beating 8-2 Santiago de Cuba, with excellent three innings relief by Yusdelvis Hernandez, supported by two RBIs per capita by Daviel Gomez and Yoandi Baguet, plus a homer by Luis Serrano.