SANTO DOMINGO.– The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) announced the cancellation of the game played on Friday, January 16, between the Águilas Cibaeñas and the Toros del Este, held at the Francisco A. Micheli stadium in La Romana, after accepting a protest filed by the team from La Romana.
The Toros’ claim was based on the fact that the Águilas registered nine imported players on their roster for the match, when the league regulations establish a maximum allowed of eight. The situation motivated the direct intervention of the president of LIDOM, Vitelio Mejía.
After requesting and evaluating the defense arguments presented by the Cibao team, LIDOM declared the protest valid in terms of form. However, it rejected the request to forfeit the game in favor of the Toros, but determined the official annulment of the match due to regulatory violation.
The match had concluded with a 6-2 victory for the Águilas Cibaeñas. Odrisamer Despaigne, Guadalupe Chávez, Matt Foster, Yoan López, A.J. Puckett, Elih Marrero, Sebastián Rivero, Rodolfo Amador and Juan Carlos Bengoa were listed as imports for the Águilas, although only six of them actively participated in the game.
The league reported that the game will be rescheduled only if necessary, depending on the result of the match between the Águilas Cibaeñas and the Leones del Escogido, scheduled for this Sunday, January 18 at the Quisqueya Juan Marichal stadium.
In the event that the Águilas defeat the Escogido, both teams —Águilas and Toros— would be tied with a record of 11-7, which would force the repetition of the canceled game in La Romana.
The Águilas Cibaeñas are obliged to win their remaining commitments to keep their aspirations of advancing to the final series of the championship alive.
