A hit in the ninth inning drove home the runs that led the Aguilas to defeat the Gigantes last night, Thursday 6 December in San Francisco de Macoris. The Santiago-based Aguilas Cibaenas thus ensured they would be one of four teams playing in the semi-final round robin. This was the fifth consecutive win by the Aguilas that are now tied for first place with the Estrellas Orientales. The winning pitcher was Tony Pena Jr., while Enerio del Rosario was the loser. The capital city teams, Licey and Escogido are tied in the last place. There is concern that neither of the Santo Domingo teams will be playing in the semi-finals this year. Only 10 more games remain to be played to decide the other two teams from the Toros, Gigantes, Licey and Escogido. For either the Licey or Escogido to make it, either of them needs to win at least 7 games of the remaining 10.
Standings
TEAM
WINS-LOSSES
AVG
GAMES BEHIND
ESTRELLAS
26 – 14
.650
—
AGUILAS
26 – 14
.650
—
TOROS
20 – 20
.500
6.0
GIGANTES
18 – 22
.450
8.0
LICEY
15 – 25
.375
11.0
ESCOGIDO
15 – 25
.375
11.0
Scheduled games for Friday 7 December and possible starting pitchers:
* Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo, 7:35pm – Estrellas (O. Javier) vs. Escogido (E. Valdez)
* Estadio Julian Javier, San Francisco de Macoris, 7:35pm – Tigres del Licey (R. Delgado) vs. Gigantes (Jo. De Paula)
* Estadio Francisco Micheli, La Romana, 7:35pm – Aguilas (L. Barcelo) vs. Toros (F. Abad)