The Dominicanos got three unearned runs in the early goings and then held off the 40 Plus Hurricanes to win, 4-3, Wednesday night in the Rafael Jackson AA Baseball League’s midweek action at the D.C. Canegata ballpark.
As one Hurricanes player lamented in a recent game, “We are probably the team with the most runs allowed without a ball leaving the infield.” And Wednesday night the Canes were true to form. All of the Dominicanos runs came in the second and third innings and, yes, three came without a ball leaving the infield.
But with that said, the “Geritol Posse” had their chances. They not only outhit the Dominicanos 9-4, they also left 17 base runners compared to just five for the Dominicanos. On at least two occasions they had their first two batters reach base but were unsuccessful in attempts to advance the runners with the bunt.
The Hurricanes did rally late, but Dominicanos closer, Aneudi Mercedes, entered the contest and slammed the door shut to preserve the 4-3 victory.
Mercedes, with the Hurricanes threatening in the top of the sixth inning, came on and easily retired the side. He then struck out two of the four batters faced in the seventh and final inning to end the game.
Dominicanos starting pitcher, Juan Santana, went five innings to pick up the victory while Geronimo Newton, who pitched a whale of a game for the Hurricanes, got the loss.
The Dominicanos finished with four runs on four hits and one error, while the Hurricanes had three runs on nine hits. Top batters for the Dominicanos were Alejandro Reyes (1 for 3 with one RBI), and Tony Cruz (1 or 1). For the Hurricanes Kai Schjang was 2 for 3, Javier Encarnacion, 2 for 4, and Cruz Soto and Eustace Davis were both 1 for 2.
