Cuban Baseball: Isla de la Juventud ties the Wild Card Series

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 21 (acn) Isla de la Juventud kept alive their options to access the second round of the Cuban baseball championship in its 56 th edition when beating 13-6 Holguin, thus matching 1-1 their wild card series.

The Pirates guaranteed success in the match held at Holguin´s Calixto Garcia Stadium thanks to abundant offensive of 21 hits, highlighting the second baseman Dainier Galvez, who hit 5 for 5 with a homer, a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Rookie Eliseo Rojas also offensively excelled for the cause of the winners when batting 2 for 2 with two doubles and four RBIs, while shortstop Aquimo Jimenez hit 2 for 4 with a triple, two RBIs and three runs scored.
Yunier Gamboa won the game after allowing six hits and six runs in seven and two thirds innings, including a homer by DH Michel Gorguet, author of three RBIs for the losing side.
Although starting pitcher Meracles Oris allowed only two earned runs in five and a third innings of work, the fateful performance of relievers put paid with Holguin´s aspirations, and Luis Angel Gomez took the loss.
After losing 5-4 at home the first game of the wild card series, Isla de la Juventud got a spectacular win away to extend the series to a third and decisive match, agreed for today, which winner will earn the sixth and final ticket to the next phase.
Matanzas, Ciego de Avila, Villa Clara and Granma advanced directly to the elite stage of the championship by finishing in the top four seats of the standings in the preliminary phase, while Camaguey defeated 2-1 Las Tunas in the other qualifying series for the fifth ticket in dispute.