In the ongoing III Elite League this Wednesday afternoon, Industriales and Santiago de Cuba both secured victories

In the aptly named Western Classic of Cuban baseball, Industriales capitalized on their home advantage at the Latinoamericano Stadium, securing a 5-3 victory over Pinar del Río on Wednesday as the Third Cuban Baseball Elite League (III ELCB) continued. Meanwhile, at the Guillermón Moncada Stadium in Santiago de Cuba, the home team solidified its grip on third place in the tournament with a comfortable 9-3 win against the last-place Granma.

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Industriales 5, Pinar del Río 3

Yasiel Santoya's double in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in Yosvany Peñalver from first base to put Industriales ahead 4-3 over Pinar del Río, a lead the Lions' team never relinquished. Minutes later, second baseman Alfredo Rodríguez welcomed reliever Jenier Álvarez with a single to center field that sealed the score, driving in the Azules' fifth run of the game. It was a game that was evenly matched until the seventh inning, with Pinar del Río starter Yunieski García (1-3) putting in a strong showing, holding the capital team to three runs until the fateful seventh inning. Industriales started aggressively when in the first inning they scored three runs, combining four hits and a hit by pitch, with one of the hits an RBI double by Yasmani Tomás, while Peñalver drove in the second with a single, and Santoya rounded out the tally with a sacrifice fly. It seemed that the Pinar del Río starter would leave the game early, but he recovered, and from then until the sixth inning, he managed to retire 16 of the 17 hitters faced, without allowing another single, and only giving up a walk to Peñalver at the beginning of the fourth inning. Meanwhile, Pinar del Río backed him up tying the game in the third inning, an inning where starter Yordan Williams came off the mound, after loading the bases and allowing a sacrifice fly by Lázaro Fernández that produced one run, and an RBI single by Dainier Gálvez that tied the game at 3-3. However, another great relief by right-hander Fernando Betanzo (3-2) was in charge of cooling the Vegueros' offense, leaving them with just one hit - by Yasiel Agete starting the fourth inning - in 4 2/3 innings with one strikeout and no walks. His work earned him the victory. In the eighth, Armando Dueñas (4) took the ball and pitched the last two scoreless innings, despite two hits, to achieve his fourth save of the tournament. The victory left Industriales alone in fourth place of the III ELCB, while the defeat made Pinar del Río drop one spot, now in fifth place.

Photos by Boris Luis Cabrera

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Santiago de Cuba 9, Granma 3

Santiago de Cuba tied the Elite League home run record in Wednesday's 9-3 victory over Granma. The home run was hit by Yoel Yanki in the first inning off starter César García (0-3), a three-run shot that gave the winners an early lead. The blast was the 29th for the Santiago team in this Elite League, tying them with Artemisa, who set the collective record during the second edition of these tournaments, as our friends at La Hornilla reminded us last Tuesday.

However, the home run was not decisive and Granma managed to overcome the deficit against Santiago starter Osvaldo Acuña (3-0). In the second inning, a single by Darián Palma and a double by Alexquemer Sánchez brought the team closer 3-1, while a sacrifice fly by Alexander Pozo closed the score at 3-2. In the third inning, Yordanis Samón would take care of driving in the tie, this time with his first home run of this III ELCB and 231 of his career in National Series. It would be the last run that Granma would score against Acuña. The right-hander recovered to complete another four innings, allowing three hits but without major consequences, finishing with 7 innings of three earned runs with seven hits, four strikeouts and two walks, for his third victory of the tournament. The Wasps' offense then took charge, breaking the tie in the fifth inning with a four-run single off starter and loser, right-hander César García (0-3). In that inning, a two-run single by Edilse Silva produced the first run, while a bases-loaded single by catcher Alexander Llánes produced another two and sent García back to the dugout. Off reliever Andy L. Pérez, second baseman Andy Rodríguez singled to left to drive in the last run of the inning. In the sixth inning, Santiago sealed the score with two more runs, combining a single by Francisco "Pancho" Martínez, an RBI double by Yanki, an intentional walk to Silva, and one of the four errors committed by the Granma defense, which enabled the second run to score due to Yanki's efforts.

Yoel Yanki hit a home run and contributed four RBIs for Santiago de Cuba on Wednesday. (Photo by Guillermo Rodríguez)

Relievers Isdenis Núñez and Israel Sánchez completed the final two innings for Santiago, with just one hit and two strikeouts, securing the victory. The win moved Santiago over the .500 mark, now with an 11-10 record, anchored in third place in the tournament, while the loss continues to sink Granma to the bottom of the league, now with 12 losses in 17 games.

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