Despite losing their last series game to Puerto Rico by a score of 3-1, the Dominican Republic (Los Leones del Escogido) has won the Caribbean Series. This is their lucky 13th series championship in the past 22 years, more than any other team in the competition. The Dominicans finished the round-robin championship series with a 4-2 record.
In tonight’s game, the first three Dominican batters in the game did all the damage. Two singles and a double by team hero RF Andy Dirks (Tigers) drove in their only run of the game in the bottom of the 1st. Puerto Rico tied the game with a run in the 2nd, then took the lead when former Indy Indian 3B Luis Figueroa doubled and scored in the 6th. A walk, a stolen base, and an RBI single gave Puerto Rico an insurance run in the 9th. Puerto Rico finished tied with Venezuela for second in the tournament, with identical 3-3 records.
Venezuela beat Mexico 6-2 in their final game of the series, putting Mexico into fourth place with a 2-4 record. Mexico struck first tonight, with 2 runs in the top of the 3rd, on two singles, a double, and a sacrifice fly. Venezuela (Los Tigres de Aragua) tied the game in the bottom of the 4th with a lead-off homer, then a double and two singles. 1B Hector Gimenez had the second of those singles, driving in one run. The Venezuelans wrapped up the game with a 4-run 5th inning. The first two batters walked, and RF Jorge Cortes moved them both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Two singles drove in a run each. After a double steal, another single drove in those two runners for a 6-2 lead.
