Licey Captures Series Crown

LICEY WINS TENTH CARIBBEAN TITLE

After reaching the 2008 Caribbean Series as the Dominican Republic’s “second” team, the Licey Tigres won five of six games to nab their record tenth championship in Latin baseball’s showcase event. The Tigres capped their title by drubbing the Dominican regular season and playoff champion Cibaenas Aguilas 8-2 Thursday night at Santiago’s Estadio Cibao. Licey broke a 2-2 game wide open with four runs in the bottom of the fourth as Juan Francisco drove in two runners with a single to provide the key stroke.

Licey pitcher Ramon Ortiz was picked as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after winning twice and tossing 11.2 shutout innings as the Tigres won their first Caribbean Series trophy since 2004. Under ordinary circumstances, Licey would not have even played in the CS, but the withdrawal of the Puerto Rican League from competition this winter necessitated the host Dominican Republic to provide two teams and even the field at four teams.

AGUILAS FAIL TO DEFEND TITLE, FINISH SECOND

Cibaenas lost both of their games to Licey and took another loss against Venezeula’a Aragua Tigres to finish as runners-up in the Caribbean Series with a 3-3 record. They beat Aragua once and the Obregon Yaquis twice, but were unable to defend their 2007 tournament championship.

Tony Pena, Jr. led the Aguilas with a .429 average, while fellow infielder Rafael Furcal stroked an even .400. Former American League MVP Miguel Tejada rocked two homers for Cibaenas, but ended up with just five hits in 24 at-bats to finish the CS at .208. Among pitchers, Francisco Cruceta won one game in three relief appearances with a 1.69 ERA while Arnie Munoz earned two saves in three games and 3.1 shutout frames.

YAQUIS FINISH STRONG TO TIE FOR THIRD PLACE

The Obregon Yaquis started off on a bad foot, losing their first four Caribbean Series games, but came back with two impressive wins to end up at 2-4. The Yaquis were the only team to beat Licey, topping the Tigres 7-4 on Wednesday as veteran Robert Saucedo crushed two homers for the Yaquis, including a game-winning three-run blast in the tenth inning. One night later, Obregon wrapped up their first-ever appearance in the CS with a 7-5 win over Aragua when Reggie Taylor highlighted a five-inning ninth for the Yaquis with a two-run triple.

Yaquis outfielder Albino Contreras was the leading batter among all four teams with a .563 average over five games. Nelson Figueroa won Thursday’s game in relief for the Mexican Pacific League champions to finish with a 1-0 record and an 0.82 ERA in 11 innings pitched.

NUNEZ COLLECTS HITS, BUT ARAGUA STRUGGLES TO THIRD PLACE TIE

Third baseman Alex Nunez batted .462 with a .588 on-base percentage, but he had little help as Venezuela’s Aragua Tigres stumbled to a 2-4 record. The Tigres lost their first two games to Licey and Cibaenas and never recovered. They did eventually top the Aguilas and Obregon, but they were never a factor in the tournament.

Although Nunez finished with six hits and four walks in 17 plate appearances, he neither scored nor drove in a run. Giovanni Carrara tossed five shutout innings for a win in his only start, but for the most part the Aragua pitchers were not effective. In a Caribbean Series noted for players who were not allowed by their major league teams to participate, the Venezuelan champions were the hardest-hit team, with only one major leaguer on the roster.

(Courtesy of World Baseball Today)

• Asian Update #4
• Sportlight
• Caribbean Series Update
  
• Claxton Shield #2 (Australia)
• Cuban National Series #2
• Spring Training - Japan