Cuban baseball defending champion close to qualify to second round

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 29 (acn) The reigning monarch Ciego de Avila took another step towards qualification to the second round of the Cuban baseball championship in its 56th edition by knocking out Industriales 14-4.

The Ciego de Avila Tigers deployed an overwhelming attack of 13 hits, including two homers by veteran Yorelvis Charles -3 for 4 with four RBIs, and another home run to the record of DH Abdel Civil, who also drove in four runs.
Reliever Ariosky Hernandez was the winner by allowing only one hit in three innings and two thirds, while Frank Montieth allowed six earned runs in four and two thirds to earn his first loss of the season.
The champions in the last two seasons of the national baseball classic, the squad managed by Roger Machado appears second in the standings with 25 wins and 15 losses, with great options of directly accessing the next stage as part of the vanguard quartet.
Matanzas enriched its legend in the current season by achieving 35 wins with only three losses when beating 9-8 Villa Clara, with reliever Alexander Rodriguez as winner and two RBIs for Orlando Arencibia, while Yandrys Canto homered by the losing side.
Erlis Casanova allowed only five hits in nine innings to guide Pinar del Rio to a 3-0 victory over Holguin, with one RBI per capita for Juan C. Arencibia, William Saavedra and Donald Duarte for the cause of the current national runners-up.
The starter Jose Ramon Rodriguez allowed three hits and one earned run in seven innings and Camagüey reached a major victory over Sancti Spiritus with score of 7-2, with two RBIs for Hector Hernandez as the most outstanding offensively for the winners.
Granma lost 1-0 to Santiago de Cuba in match marked by solid pitching performance by right-hander Danny Betancourt, who covered the entire route allowing seven hits, supported by Reynaldo Lamothe´s decisive RBI.
Las Tunas ratified itself in eighth place when defeating Guantanamo 5-3, with catcher Rafael Viñales batting 2 for 3 with a homer and three RBIs for the winners of a match won by reliever Diego Granado and save to the account of Adiel Jose Moreno.
In other results of the day, Artemisa overcame Mayabeque 8-7 and Isla de la Juventud beat 3-0 Cienfuegos.
Matanzas (35-3) leads the National Baseball Series, escorted by Ciego de Avila (25-15), Villa Clara (21-14), Holguin (21-15), Granma (22-17), Guantanamo (21-18), Industriales (21-18), Las Tunas (20-18), Camagüey (20-19), Isla de la Juventud (18-19), Pinar del Río (15-19), Artemisa (16-24), Cienfuegos (16-24), Santiago de Cuba (13-26), Sancti Spiritus (12-27) and Mayabeque (8-28).