On Sunday, the Mocanos reasserted their dominance at the Bebecito del Villar in Bonao, where they defeated the Mineros 6-5 thanks to the bat of Cristopher Familia, who hit a home run and a double to drive in two, in addition to a solid contribution from Gilberto Jiménez with two runs scored.
On Saturday, on that same stage, the Miners shone again by defeating the Athletics 9-4, this time with the credit going to Miguel Guerrero from the mound. With that streak, Bonao climbed to third position for the first time in the season, half a game above Puerto Plata.
On Sunday, at home, the Miners narrowly lost 6-5 to the Farmers at the Bebecito del Villar, despite the hits by Jomar Reyes, who hit two doubles. Even so, the team remains with firm options to qualify, depending on themselves. The Atléticos de Puerto Plata (9-9) had a bitter start with their two losses against Bonao at the José Briceño, but reacted on Sunday at the Berto Polonia stadium in Santiago, where they defeated the Reales 5-2. Starting pitcher Juan Luis Martínez worked six solid innings after giving up two runs in the first inning, and the offense backed him up in the middle innings to seal a vital victory. The Bravos de La Vega (6-11) were also protagonists. On Friday, at the Olympic Stadium, they surprised Santiago with a 9-4 victory thanks to the arm of Mario Germán, who pitched six quality innings. On Sunday, in that same park, they defeated the Arroceros 10-7 with an offense led by Starlin Javier (5-4, 3 runs, 2 RBIs) and Randy Bravos (4 RBIs). The San Francisco Rice Growers (5-12) pulled off one of the weekend’s surprises by defeating the Farmers 6-4 on Saturday at the Bragañita García Stadium, taking away their home undefeated streak with Franmy Almonte’s offense and Yoelvis Polanco’s effective relief. However, on Sunday they lost 10-7 to the Bravos at the Olímpico, finishing last in the table. Each park on the circuit witnessed emotions: the Ramón A. Perdomo in Moca, the Berto Polonia in Santiago, the José Briceño in Puerto Plata, the Bragañita García and the Olímpico in La Vega hosted defining matches that stirred the fight for the semifinal tickets. At the end of the day, the standings were with the Farmers (13-5) as solid leaders, followed by the Royals (11-6) a game and a half behind. Further back, the Athletics (9-9) occupy third place, with the Miners (8-9) half a game behind. The Braves (6-11) and the Rice Growers (5-12) are practically out of the race. With Moca and Santiago already qualified, the magic number for Puerto Plata and Bonao is two, which means they are on the verge of completing the group of four. The semi-final will be played in a round-robin format, with six games per team and a ticket to the final for the top two.
