SPAIN – Marlins Puerto Cruz erased a 5-3 deficit with a five-run eighth to foil the upset bid by San Inazio Bilbao, 8-5, last weekend to earn their 19th consecutive victory. The four-time defending Spanish League champion finished off the twinbill sweep with a 7-1 triumph in the second encounter.
Paced by the trio of Kelvin Marianucci, Dirimo Chavez and Rene Reyes – who each had three hits apiece – San Inazio plated four runs off Marlins right-hander Leslie Nacar (9-0) in the opening frame. But the Tenerife club biggest bat, Richard Montiel, homered and racked up three RBIs to turn back the upset-minded home team.
The Marlins (20-0) got four hits and three RBIs from Luis Perez and a strong outing by Ivan Granados in the second game. The southpaw scattered a run and four hits over eight innings to improve his record to 8-0 this season.
F.C. Barcelona (16-4) found itself in a 3-0 hole after just one inning against Viladecans and suffered a 3-2 loss in the opening game last weekend. However, the Spanish League second-place team routed their host 12-5 in the second matchup to salvage a split of the doubleheader.
Delio M. Martinez (6-1) pitched Viladecans (10-9) to the upset win in the
opener to deal Barcelona ace Homer Baez (7-2) his second setback of the season. In the finale, Pedro Belmonte (8-0) turned in yet another solid peformance on the hill while Emmanuel Febles shouldered the offensive load with four hits.
Sant Boi disposed of Baseball Navarra, 4-2, in their opening game before getting stunned in the second contest, 6-2.
Marc Carrillo’s two-run single in the fifth broke a 2-2 deadlock and made a winner of Oscar Alvarez (7-3), who tossed a six-hitter in a complete-game effort. But the visitors answered back in the second meeting between the two squads.
Navarra (6-12) blew open a tied contest with a run in the eighth, and three more scores in the ninth, to upset third-place Sant Boi (14-6).
Diego Perez (1-3) picked up his first win of the year with seven strong innings, while Sant Boi ace Jose E. Cruz (7-1) suffered his first setback of the season.
SPANISH STANDINGS
| Team | Won | Lost |
|---|---|---|
| Marlins | 20 | 00 |
| Barcelona | 16 | 04 |
| Sant Boi | 14 | 06 |
| Viladecans | 10 | 09 |
| San Inazio | 09 | 11 |
| Vigo | 08 | 10 |
| El Llano | 08 | 12 |
| Navarra | 06 | 12 |
| Pamplona | 04 | 15 |
| Astros | 00 | 20 |
Photos courtesy of Diego Lazaro
Tags: Spain
[...] recent years. Four-time defending champion Marlins Puerto Cruz is off to another sizzling start, opening the season with a 20-0 record after a pair of road victories last weekend. F.C. Barcelona has remained within shouting distance [...]