Leones Take 2 of 3 from Monclova with 6-1 Win

Alejandro Astorga courtesy Leones Facebook

Alejandro Astorga (3-1) shut out the Acereros through 6 1/3 innings on 4 hits while striking out 4. Eder Llamas and Anthony Ortega struck out 2 and allowed 3 hits over the last 2 2/3 innings in the Leones 6-1 victory over Monclova. Sasagi Sanchez (1-2) took the loss for the Acereros.

Yucatan scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 5th. Luis Garcia led off with a single and moved to second on a single by Jesus Valdez. Willy Aybar doubled to deep left center to score both Garcia and Valdez. Ricardo Serrano doubled to center to drive in Aybar. Kevin Flores singled moving Serrano to third. Serrano scored on a sac fly by Israel Nunez. Two batters later, Ivan Araujo tripled to center to plate Flores and the Leones led 5-0.

Ayabar Scores courtesy Leones Facebook

Kevin Flores and Isreal Nunez singled to lead off the 7th inning for Yucatan. After a fly ball out to left, Ivan Araujo drew a walk to load the bases. Following a pitching change by the Acereros, relief pitcher Jose Gallego uncorked a wild pitch to score Flores to increase the Leones lead to 6-0.

Monclova scored in the top of the 9th inning. Olmo Rosario singled with one out and went to third on a double by Jose Ruiz. The Leones reliever, Anthony Ortega, threw a wild pitch that scored Rosario but Travis Garcia struck out to end the game with the score 6-1 Leones.

Willy Aybar was 1 for 4 with a 2 run double, Ivan Araujo 1 for 2 with a run scoring triple, Jesus Valdez 3 for 4 and Kevin Flores 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored for Yucatan.

Jose Ruiz went 2 for 4 for the Acereros who were held to 7 hits and struck out 6 times. Monclova did not score until the top of the 9th.

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Oaxaca 7, Mexico 3
The Guerreros built a 7-2 lead over the Diablos after 5 innings. the Diablos scored a run in the bottom of the 9th on a double and a single but it wasn't enough as Oaxaca held on to win 7-3. Alejandro Soto (2-1) went 6 innings for the win and Juan Pablo Oramas (1-1) took the loss.

Saltillo 12, Veracruz 4
The Saraperos scored 4 times in the 1st and 4 more in the 5th to put the game away over the Aguilas 12-4. Luis Borges was 3 for 5 with an RBI, Ramon Orantes 3 for 3 with a home run and 4 RBIs and Carlos Alvarez 3 for 5 with 4 RBIs for Saltillo. Jeremias Pineda went 2 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored for Veracruz.

Campeche 4, Tamaulipas 1
Up 3-0 after 3 innings the Piratas went on to beat the Broncos 4-1. Jorge Castillo (2-1) picked up the win and Ricardo Gomez recorded his 5th save of the year for Campeche. Jesus Carrillo (0-2) took the loss. DH Ruben Mateo was 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs for the Piratas and Travis Denker went 2 for 4 with a home run for the Broncos.

Aguascalientes 2, Tabasco 1
Jesus Castillo, who went 2 for 4 on the night, homered in the 1st for the Rieleros and a run scoring single by Julian Castro in the 2nd, offset a 5th inning solo home run by the Olmeca's Jose Castaneda to win 2-1. Fredy Quintero (2-0) got the win  and Roy Corcoran his 7th save for the Rieleros. Leo Medrano (1-2) was saddled with the loss.

Ciudad del Carmen 7, Monterrey 4
The Delfines built a 7-1 lead after 6 innings and survived a 3 run rally in the 9th by the Sultanes to beat Monterrey 7-4. Henry Rodriguez was 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and Carlos Morales 3 for 4 with an RBI for del Carmen. Heber Gomez went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs for the Sultanes. Sergio Mora (1-2) got the win and Alfredo Aceves (0-1) took the loss.

Puebla 7, Tijuana 3
The Pericos scored 3 times in the 4th to best the Toros 7-3. Jon Del Campos was 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs and Luke Scott 1 for 3 with a 2 run home run and 3 RBIs for Puebla. Roman Pena went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and Abel Martinez 2 for 2 with an RBI for Tijuana. Lauro Ramirez (1-1) got the win while Terance Marin (1-2) suffered the loss.

Quintana Roo 11, Laguna 3
5 runs in the 1st was enough for the Tigres to beat the Vaqueros but they didn't stop there on their way to an 11-3 win. Rafael Perez (2-1) was credited with the win while Yeiper Castillo (0-2) was the losing pitcher. The Tigres got 2 home runs and 4 RBIs from Carlos Valencia and a home run with3 RBIs from Jorge Cantu. Santiago Gonzalez went 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs for Laguna.

Monclova Pitching Shuts Down Leones 5-3

The Acereros del Norte Monclova's starting pitcher, Jose Oyervidez (3-1), gave up 2 runs on 5 hits over 6 innings and the offense pounded out 15 hits on the way to the Acereros 5-3 win.

Jose Oyervidez courtesy Leones Facebook

Carlos Penuelas got things started for Monclova in the top of the 2nd inning with a single. Flavio Romero followed with a single of his own and Hector Garanzuay singled to score Penuelas and Romero scored when the throw to third got by Willy Aybar to give the Acereros an early 2-0 lead.

Monclova added to their lead in the top of the 3rd. Jose Ruiz led off the inning with a solo home run to right center for a 3-0 lead. Jose Amador and Travis Garcia followed with singles and Amador scored on a single by Francisco Cordoba. Carlos Penuelas drove in the third run of the inning, and the 5-0 Acereros lead, with a single.

Luis Garcia courtesy Leones Facebook

Luis Garcia led off the bottom of the 4th inning for Yucatan by singling to left. Garcia would come around to score in front of a Willy Aybar home run to right that cut the Monclova lead to 5-2.

Before the Acereros came to bat in the top of the 7th, the Leones manager, Wilfredo Romero, was ejected from the game by the home plate umpire for arguing balls and strikes. Corey Wimberly hit a two out double to center and Jose Aguilar drew a base on balls. Hector Gimenez singled to center to plate Wimberly and the lead was down to 5-3 Monclova.

With two on and two outs in the top of the 9th inning, the Leones pitcher, Luis Vazquez left the game after injuring his leg. Manuel Rodriguez came in to face the dangerous Olmo Rosario but Rodriguez got Rosario to ground out to short to end the inning.

Juan Noriega, in to pitch the 9th for Monclova set the Leones down to preserve 5-3 win for Jose Oyervidez (3-1) and pick up his 3rd save of the year. Juan Delgadillo (1-2) gave up 10 hits and 5 runs in 2 1/3 innings to be charged with the loss.

Willy Aybar was 1 for 3 with a home run and 2 RBIs, Corey Wimberly 2 for 4 with a run scored and Hector Gimenez 2 for 4 with an RBI for Yucatan.

Jose Ruiz was 2 for 4 with a home run and an RBI while Carlos Penuelas went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Jose Amador was 3 for 5 for the Acereros.

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Mexico 10, Oaxaca 4
The six through nine hitters in the Diablos lineup went 6 for 14 with a home run, 7 RBIs and 5 runs scored and Mexico's pitchers held the Guerreros to 4 runs on 6 hits, including home runs by Jaime Brena and Alejandro Gonzalez.

Aguascalientes 13, Tabasco 5
The Rieleros scored 5 times in the 8th inning including Saul Soto's 2nd home run of the game to cruise past the Olmecas 13-5. Pedro Diaz went 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs for Tabasco. Soto was 3 for 4 with 6 RBIs and Julian Castro went 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs and 4 runs scored for the Rieleros.

Saltillo 6, Veracruz 2
4 runs in the 3rd inning was enough for the Saraperos to top the Aguilas 6-2. Linder Castro (1-0) pitched 5 innings allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits, 1 a home run by Adelaido Martinez, to earn the victory while Oscar Verdugo (1-2) took the loss. Carlos Alvarez and Genaro Andrade homered for the Saraperos.

Campeche 1, Tamaulipas 0
The Piratas scored the only run of the game in the 3rd inning on a single by Dave Sappelt, a walk to Maxwell Leon and a Josh Fields RBI single to left. Hector Velazquez (2-0) tossed 8 innings of 2 hit ball while striking out 10 for the win. Ricardo Gomez recorded his 4th save. Francisco Felix (1-2) pitched well but walked 5 and took the loss for the Broncos.

Ciudad del Carmen 2, Monterrey 1
Carlos Ibarra went 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs for the Delfines while Jose Felix went 2 for 3 with the lone RBI for the Sultanes in the 2-1 loss. Sandy Rosario (3-0) got the win and Josh Lueke his 5th save. Thomas Melgarejo (0-2) was saddled with the loss for Monterrey.

Quintana Roo 3, Laguna 2
The Tigres jumped out to a 2 -0 lead in the bottom of the 1st and held on to beat the Vaqueros 3-2. Jorge Cantu homered for the Tigres and Jose Orozco hit a solo home run for Laguna. Pablo Ortega (4-0) worked 7 innings for the win and Francisco Rodriguez earned his 5th save of the year. Felipe Arredondo (1-1) took the loss despite 7 good innings on the mound.

Puebla 18, Tijuana 6
The Pericos scored 18 runs on 20 hits to maul the Toros 18-6. Luke Scott went 3 for 5 with 2 home runs, 1 a grand slam, and 6 RBIs for Puebla. Alberto Carreon added a homerun on a 3 for 5 night with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored and Jon Del Campo was 4 for 5 with 3 RBIs and 4 runs scored. CJ Retherford was 2 for 3 with a home run for the Toros and Emmanuel Valdez added a pinch hit solo home run.

Homar Rojas - Acereros del Norte Monclova Manager 2015

Homar Rojas played professional baseball for 23 years including 4 years in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system. Rojas played for 6 different Liga Mexicana de Beisbol teams and 3 Liga Mexicana del Pacifico teams during which he compiled a .291 career batting average as a catcher.

In 1987 Rojas played for the Bakersfield Dodgers, a Single A minor league affiliate of the Dodgers in the California League. In 1988 he was moved to another Single A Dodgers team, the Vero Beach Dodgers.

Homar Rojas the Player

1989 saw Rojas start the year playing for the Triple A Dodger affiliate Albuquerque Dukes and finish up the season with the Double A team in San Antonio Texas.

Rojas began his managerial career with the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the LMB in 2005. During 2007-2008, he managed the Yaquis de Obregon, leading the Yaquis to their 1st league pennant in 27 years.

Homar managed the Broncos de Reynosa of the LMB from 2009-2012 and managed the Naranjeros de Hermosillo from 2009-2010.

Rojas With Hermosillo

In 2011, Rojas was named the manager of the Venados de Mazatlan of the LMP.

Rojas managed the Piratas de Campeche, of the LMB in 2013 and became the manager of the Acereros del Norte Monclava in 2014 where he led the team to a 60-51 record and into the LMB Playoffs.Monclova was swept in the 1st round of the playoffs by the Sultanes de Monterrey.

Acereros Manager Homar Rojas