Dominican League: Games of January 17

Day eighteen of the playoffs.  Dan Rohlfing gets a key hit.  Cibao wins a tight one.  A playoff game tonight to set the finals.

LICEY 6, ESCOGIDO 1 IN ESCOGIDO

Twins:  Dan Rohlfing (Licey) was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Licey:  Emilio Bonifacio (Kansas City) was 4-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.  Eugenio Velez (Milwaukee) was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Francisley Bueno (Kansas City) pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Escogido:  Ramon Santiago was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.  Gregory Polanco (PIttsburgh) was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

The game:  Two singles and a sacrifice fly gave Licey a 1-0 lead in the first.  In the second, a single-and-error by Rohlfing made it 3-0 and a single by Bonifacio made it 4-0.  Polanco doubled in a run in the third to put Escogido on the board at 4-1, but in the fourth Bonifacio singled in another run and an RBI ground out made it 6-1.  Escogido did not put together a threat after that, and did not get a hit after the fifth inning.

CIBAO 6, AGUILAS 5 IN CIBAO

Aguilas:  Ricardo Nanita was 2-for-3 with a double, and a home run (his third), scoring three times.  Zoilo Almonte (Yankees) was 2-for-5 with a home run, his second.  Francisco Pena (Kansas City) was 2-for-3 with a run.

Cibao:  Hector Gomez was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run (his fifth), scoring twice.  Leury Garcia was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Mayo Acosta was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.

The game:  An error put Cibao ahead 1-0 in the first, but Aguilas got three in the top of the second on an Almonte homer, a run-scoring double by Alex Valdez, and a sacrifice fly to go ahead 3-1.  Cibao got single runs in the second and third to tie it at three.  Nanita homered in the fourth to put Aguilas up 4-3, but Cibao tied it in the fifth on a Gomez homer.  An error put Aguilas ahead 5-4 in the sixth.  They held the lead until the eighth.  Gomez doubled, stole third, and scored on a throwing error to tie it at five.  Garcia then singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Francisco Peguero (Baltimore) to give Cibao a 6-5 lead.  Aguilas could manage only a two-out single in the ninth.

PLAYOFF STANDINGS

Escogido, 11-7
Cibao, 9-9
Licey, 9-9
Aguilas, 7-11

Escogido has clinched a spot in the finals.  Cibao and Licey have a playoff game tonight to determine which of them will advance.