SANTO DOMINGO – Los Leones del Escogido logró una impresionante remontada este miércoles, anotando cinco carreras en el octavo episodio para vencer 7-6 a los Toros del Este en el primer juego de la Serie Final de la Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana (LIDOM), celebrado en el estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal.
Despite being down on the scoreboard 6-2, the current national and Caribbean champions started their offense in the eighth inning against Jean Carlos Mejía. Héctor Rodríguez and Erik González hit consecutive singles. Sócrates Brito drove in a run with a double to left field, followed by an infield hit by Junior Lake that drove in González.
A ground ball by Raimel Tapia advanced the runners, and a walk to Yamaico Navarro loaded the bases. Alcides Escobar hit a single that drove in two runs, tying the game. After Mejía’s exit, Joe Corbett walked Michael De la Cruz, again congesting the bases. Franchy Cordero, as a pinch hitter, hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring the go-ahead run.
The Lions had taken the lead early in the game. Héctor Rodríguez opened the first inning with a double against Enny Romero and scored thanks to a single by Junior Lake. Lake advanced to second on an error and then stole third base, later scoring on a balk. The Toros responded in the second inning with a two-run homer by Eddie Rosario against Travis Lakins. Lakins hit Yairo Muñoz and walked Jeimer Candelario, being replaced by Derek West. A single by Onix Vega loaded the bases with no outs, and although Rudy Martin struck out, a walk to Eric Filia allowed the third run for the Romanense. A double play by Sergio Alcántara ended the threat. Aneurys Zabala (1-0) took the victory, pitching one inning with one run and two strikeouts. Jean Carlos Mejía (0-1) took the loss after allowing the five runs in the eighth inning. Stephen Nogosek earned the save (1), pitching the ninth inning without allowing runs. For the Leones, Héctor Rodríguez went 3-4, with a double, two runs scored and a walk; Junior Lake went 2-3, with two RBIs, two runs scored, a walk and two stolen bases; Sócrates Brito went 1-2, with a double, one RBI, one run scored, two walks and two steals; while Alcides Escobar drove in two runs. For the Toros, Eddie Rosario hit a two-run homer and scored once, and Eloy Jiménez stood out by going 5-3, with two doubles, one RBI, and two runs scored. The Final Series will continue this Thursday with the second game, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Francisco A. Micheli stadium, in La Romana.
