Mejía drives in four runs and Núñez reaches 400 hits in Licey’s victory

SANTO DOMINGO. – Francisco Mejía was a triple away from completing the cycle and drove in four runs, while Gustavo Núñez reached the historic figure of 400 hits in his career, in the Tigres del Licey’s 7-3 victory over the Toros del Este, in a game held this Saturday at the Quisqueya Juan Marichal Stadium.

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With their second consecutive win, the blue team improved their record to 21-26, staying in the fight to advance to the Round Robin. The Bulls, for their part, set their mark at 25-22. Licey took the lead from the first inning against the taurine starter Aaron Leasher. Gustavo Núñez opened the game with a single to center field, advanced to second after stealing the base, and scored with a hit to right field by Francisco Mejía. That single made Nuñez the fifth active player with at least 400 hits in regular LIDOM series, joining Junior Lake, Emilio Bonifacio, Juan Francisco and Moisés Sierra. The Toros tied the score in the third inning when Bryan De La Cruz hit a home run between left and center field against the blue starter Shaun Anderson. However, the Tigres responded immediately in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run by Mejía to left field. In the fourth inning, Licey extended their lead. Emilio Bonifacio led off with a bunt single, advanced on a groundout by Nuñez, Ronny Mauricio was hit by a pitch, and Mejía hit a double to left field that drove in two runs. Another blue annotation arrived in the sixth inning against reliever Ángel Felipe. David Hensley started with a single, advanced to second on a ground ball by Bonifacio, to third on a passed ball and scored thanks to a hit to right field by Núñez. The Toros scored two runs in the seventh inning against Luis Frías. Bryan Lavastida got on base with a single, stole second, and scored on a hit by Rafael Lantigua. Then, Lantigua advanced to third due to defensive errors and scored on a hit by Luis Liberato. The seventh and final run for Licey came in the bottom of the eighth inning with a single by Ronny Mauricio with the bases loaded. Shaun Anderson worked four innings in which he allowed four hits, one earned run, walked one batter, and struck out three batters. The blue relief was handled by Enyel De Los Santos, Yunior Marte, Luis Frías, Misael Tamárez, Wander Suero, and Jean Carlos Mejía. Marte (1-0, 0.00) was credited with the victory, while Leasher (1-2, 2.63) took the loss. Mejia stood out offensively for the Tigers, hitting a home run, a double, and two singles, scoring one run and driving in four. Nunez went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, Mauricio drove in two runs, and Sergio Alcantara, David Hensley, Esteury Ruiz, and Emilio Bonifacio each had a hit. For the Toros, Bryan Lavastida went 2-for-3 with a run scored, Bryan De La Cruz hit a home run, Gilberto Celestino had two hits, and Jeimer Candelario, Luis Liberato, Eloy Jiménez, and Rafael Lantigua each contributed a single. The Tigres del Licey return to action this Sunday when they visit the Toros del Este starting at 5:00 in the afternoon at the Francisco Micheli Stadium in La Romana.