Ciego de Ávila consolidates its lead in the III Elite League with a 3-0 shutout of Pinar del Río; Granma moves up with its fourth consecutive win

In Ciego de Ávila's return to the qualifying stage of the III Cuban Elite Baseball League (III LEBC), following a scheduled break in the previous series, they excelled with a 3-0 shutout victory on the road against Pinar del Río. This win reinforced their lead in the Cuban Elite League and pushed the Westerners to the bottom of the standings. Meanwhile, further east, Granma secured their fourth consecutive win by defeating Industriales with a decisive 15-8 score, climbing one position in the standings of this qualifying stage.

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Ariel Zerquera completed his second career shutout this afternoon in a 3-0 win over Pinar del Río. (Photo by Radio Bayamo)

Ciego de Ávila 3, Pinar del Río 0

Ariel Zerquera (5-1) delivered an impressive performance, pitching a three-hit game with 7 strikeouts, marking his second career shutout and his first complete game of the season. This led the Ciego de Ávila Tigers to a 3-0 win against the Pinar del Río Vegueros on Monday afternoon. The left-hander's effort constituted the best start of this III LEBC, in a game held at the Captain San Luis Stadium in Pinar del Río. Jonathan Bridón contributed two of the Tigers' three runs, and Yoasán Guillén added another, leading to a win that brought the Ciego de Ávila team to just 1.5 games behind the Las Tunas Lumberjacks, solidifying their position at the top of this III LEBC. Meanwhile, the defeat dropped Pinar del Río to the bottom of the standings, now 1.5 games away from the qualification zone. With his performance, Zerquera reduced his ERA to 2.04 over six starts and finished his first game of the championship. The young left-hander was impressive throughout the afternoon, giving up the first hit to the Pinar del Río team in the sixth inning with two outs, courtesy of Dainier López. He faced the minimum number of batters in eight of the nine innings, with his defense contributing by turning three double plays. Zerquera's last complete game occurred three years ago during the 61st National Series. The win solidified his status as the league's leading pitcher, marking him as the first to achieve five victories. The necessary offensive support arrived in the fourth inning when Frederich Cepeda started off with a double against starter Yunieski García (1-4). A defensive error occurred right after, enabling Robert Luis Delgado to reach second base as Cepeda advanced to third. Bridón hit a sacrifice fly that brought Cepeda home for the game's first run, and a grounder through shortstop advanced Delgado to third, allowing him to score on Guillén's timely single to left field. These were the only two runs - unearned - allowed by the Pinar del Río starter, who proved to be a formidable opponent, pitching 7 innings with 5 hits, 6 strikeouts, and a walk, despite suffering his fourth loss of the championship. In the eighth inning, against reliever Gabriel Cantero, Ciego scored their final run. This came after Ronaldo Castillo hit a double to start the inning, followed by an intentional walk to Cepeda after Leo Escalante struck out. After Cantero was replaced, Delgado hit a single that loaded the bases, and Bridón's grounder through shortstop drove in the last run of the game, all against the new reliever José E. Santos.

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Granma 15, Industriales 8

Further east, at Mártires de Barbados Park in Granma, the home team hit 14 hits for 15 runs against five pitchers from Industriales, achieving a 15-8 victory, marking the fourth consecutive win for the Granma team in the III LEBC. Granma's offense dominated early, scoring 12 runs in the first three innings against starter and losing pitcher Yordan Williams (0-1), who managed only two outs and allowed six runs—five of which were earned. First reliever Carlos M. Cuesta suffered from Industriales' poor defense, which committed four errors in the game, resulting in Cuesta being charged with five runs, only one of them earned. In the first inning alone, Granma scored six runs, with five hits, including doubles by Yulieski Remón and Alfredo Despaigne, and benefiting from two hit by pitches. The following inning, the Alazanes added five more runs, which would have sufficed for the victory, as they recorded four hits and the Industriales' defense made another error.

Sammy E. Benítez's quality outing against Industriales. (Photo by Radio Bayamo)

The winners benefited from a solid performance by right-hander Sammy E. Benítez (3-0), who pitched six innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs, while striking out three and walking two, securing his third win of the III LEBC. As Benítez exited at the beginning of the seventh inning, Industriales attempted a comeback, scoring three runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings, against three Granma relievers.

The reaction led to closer Yanielquis Duardo being called in, who effectively stopped the Lions' offense, by pitching 1 1/3 perfect innings with a strikeout, securing the win that advanced Granma to fifth place in the tournament.

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