Junior Lake Stars in Epic Triumph for the Leones del Escogido
An exciting encounter culminated in the victory of the Leones del Escogido 5-4 over the Toros del Este, thanks to a daring run by Junior Lake from third base in the tenth inning. This triumph, which took place on Friday night, maintained the team’s positive streak in the final stretch of the regular season. The decisive play occurred after a touch by Sócrates Brito to the pitcher, which was quickly handled by Jarlín García, who made a precise throw to catcher Tres Barrera. However, Lake managed to slide his left hand over the plate, avoiding the catch and unleashing the celebration of the scarlet team. The Lions started the tenth inning with a 4-3 deficit. Freudy Batista, as a ghost runner on second, advanced to third thanks to a bunt by Jonathan Guzmán. Lake was hit by a pitch from Michael Ynoa and stole second base, setting the stage for a single by Erik González to left field, which drove in the tying run and put Lake on third. With this victory, which represents the third consecutive and the sixth in the last seven games, the Escogido improves its record to 22-25, consolidating in third place in the standings, tied with the Estrellas Orientales and with a lead of one and a half games over the Tigres del Licey and the Gigantes del Cibao (20-26). Hansel Marcelino (1-0) got the win, while Michael Ynoa (0-1) took the loss.Party Development
The Lions took the lead in the first inning, when Lake scored after negotiating a walk, advancing to second on a single by González, to third with a fly ball by Brito and scoring on a groundout by Yamaico Navarro to first. The Toros responded in the third inning, tying the game with a two-run double by Gilberto Celestino and taking the lead with a run-scoring single by Luis Liberato. In the fifth inning, the Reds loaded the bases with no outs, and Socrates Brito hit a run-scoring single to tie the game. A ground ball for a double play by Navarro allowed the run that put the score 3-2 in favor of Escogido. The Bulls tied the game again in the seventh inning with a solo home run by Jeimer Candelario.Featured Players
For the Leones, Sócrates Brito went 1-for-4 with two RBIs; Junior Lake went 0-for-3, with a walk and three runs scored; Erik González, 2-for-4 with one driven in, and Jonathan Guzmán, 1-for-3 with one run scored.For the Toros, Jeimer Candelario went 1-for-4 with a home run, a run scored, and an RBI, while Luis Liberato went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Lions will travel this Saturday to San Francisco de Macorís, where they will face the Gigantes del Cibao at 5:00 in the afternoon, in another key duel for the classification.
