Matanzas close to clinch berth to second stage in Cuban baseball

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 26 (acn) Matanzas and Isla de la Juventud ratified themselves in the qualifying zone of Cuban baseball when winning over Artemisa and Camaguey respectively.

Jonder Martinez allowed six hits and one earned run with eight strikeouts in nine innings to score his eighth win of the season, in the 4-1 victory of Matanzas over Artemisa, with homers of Onel Vega and Eduardo Blanco by the winners.
Isla de la Juventud achiev ed its fourth straight win by beating 6-1 Camagüey, with credit from the mound to Pedro Luis Guzman and offensive highlight of outfielder Rodmy Proenza, author of a double and three RBIs in the match.
Freddy Asiel Alvarez allowed two hits in seven innings and Yeniet Perez took off a solo homer to lead Villa Clara to an important 5-1 victory over the leader and monarch Ciego de Avila, result that allows the disciples of Vladimir Hernandez to keep dreaming with qualifying to the second stage.
In turn, the veteran first baseman Alexander Malleta hit 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs, while Ian Rendon pitched six innings allowing four hits with six strikeouts in the 6-1 win of Industriales over Pinar del Rio .
Holguin lost 8-3 against the already qualified team of Granma, which depended from the mound on the winner Alberto Soto, supported by save of Edgar Escobar, while outfielder Roel Santos hit a homer, a triple and drove in two runs.
Las Tunas extended to five its straight losses string when losing 10-3 to Sancti Spiritus, which reached its fourth consecutive win thanks to 18 hits, including a solo homer by Luis Daniel Serrano and three RBIs of Daviel Gómez.
Finally, Guantanamo defeated Santiago de Cuba 3-2 to maintain its siege of the qualifying area, with solid pitching performance by Pedro Aguero, while Yasniel Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs to lead Mayabeque in its 6-5 win over Cienfuegos.
The already qualified squads of Ciego de Avila (28 wins and 12 losses), Industriales (29-14) and Granma (27-15) in that order lead the standings of Cuban baseball, followed by Pinar del Río ( 23-14), Holguin (25-18), Las Tunas (23-17), Matanzas (24-18), Isla de la Juventud (23-20).
Guantanamo (22-20), Sancti Spiritus (22-21), Villa Clara (22-21) and Cienfuegos (19-21) still have options of advancing to the second round, but Santiago de Cuba (15-28), Artemisa (11-29), Camagüey (11-32) and Mayabeque (9-33) are already eliminated.