(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
  Gigantes second team to reach Nicaraguan Final; Vásquez MVP
Nederlands
 MANAGUA (Nicaragua) -
Gigantes de Rivas won 3-1 on Wednesday-evening (January 11) against Indios del Bóer to win the best-five Semi-Final 3-1 to reach the Final of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Nacional.
In the best-of-seven Nicaraguan Championship Series, Gigantes meets Tigres de Chinandega, which finished in first place of the regular season last week and with automatically qualified for the Final.
Playing in Tigres de Chinandega are Netherlands Team-players Curt Smith, Yurendell de Caster and Dashenko Ricardo.
The Final begins on Friday.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that Wuillians Vásquez was named Most Valuable Player of the 2016-2017 season.
It already was expected that the Venezuelan would win the award, as he closed the regular season as the leading hitter (.407).
But he also led in runs batted in (55) and homeruns (11) to capture the Triple Crown.
It is the second time that Vásquez, who in 2010 played in the Netherlands Major League for HCAW, is named MVP of the professional Nicaraguan league.
He shared the award with Justo Rivas after completion of the 2006-2007 season.
After the 2012-2013 season, it was Yurendell de Caster, who won the Triple Crown and also was named MVP.
On Wednesday-evening, at Estadio Dennis Martínez in capital Managua, Gigantes opened the score in the top of the third inning.
Luis Allen led off with a walk and advanced on a single by Isaac Martínez.
The latter was forced out on a grounder by Mark Joseph, which led to runners at the corners.
Moments later, Allen scored the first run when he was awarded home plate on a balk by pitcher Francisco Cruceta.
That of course brought Joseph to second base.
He moved to third on an infield-hit by Darrel Campbell, then scored the second run on a force play-grounder by Wuillians Vásquez.
...Wuillians Vásquez...
...Most Valuable Player...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Bóer got a big opportunity to do something back.
With out out, Juan Carlos Urbina and Janior Montes both singled.
The two then executed a double-steal, meaning there were runners on second and third base with only one out.
But hereafter, pitcher Carlos Teller struckout the next two batters to end the threat and the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, with two outs, Maykel Caceres lined the ball into deep leftfield, but there, Wuillians Vásquez made the catch with his back against the fence, ending the at bat.
Gigantes then added a run in the top of the sixth.
After Vásquez had struckout, American Reginal Abercrombie doubled.
To set up a force play, next batter Donell Linares was walked intentionally.
After a flyout, Abercrombie scored on a single by Anderson Feliz to make it 3-0.
Bóer scored its first run in the seventh inning when Janior Montes led off with a line drive homerun over the rightfield-fence off of Carlos Teller.
With one out, Wilfredo Giménez and that marked the end for Teller.
The lefthander had given up only three hits in his previous six innings, while striking out six.
He was relieved by Dominican Jonathan Aristil, who pitched earlier in two games of the Semi-Final, including one start.
Aristil got two flyouts for the next two pinch-hitters, but they were two line drives into rightfield and to third base, respectively.
Aristil then retired the side in the eighth and the ninth inning to secure the small lead and earn a save.
(January 11)
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