Acereros Advance to Zona Norte Finals; Defeat Tecolotes 4 Games to 1

MONCLOVA SCORES 3 RUNS ON 4 HITS IN 3-1 WIN

Josh Lowey

The pitchers duel in this game was a good one. Josh Lowey (1-0) threw 4 hit ball over 7 2/3 innings, with 2 of those hits coming in the 8th inning, allowing 1 run, walking 3 and striking out 4 in the win. He walked a batter and gave up 2 singles in the 8th resulting in a run for Dos Laredos. Josh Lueke worked the 9th inning to record his 2nd save of the series.

The Tecolotes starter, Terance Marin (0-1), pitched a complete game allowing 3 runs on 4 hits over those 9 innings. The one pitch he would like to have back is the one that Juan Perez took deep in the 7th inning. Marin walked 1 and struck out 2 in his outing.

Terance Marin

The game was scoreless until Monclova scored their runs in the top of the 7th. Erick Aybar singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a fly ball to center by Jesus Castillo. With 2 outs, Danny Espinosa doubled to left to score Aybar. Wild pitch advanced Espinosa to third but Juan Perez launched his home run to bring in Espinosa and give the Acereros a 3-0 lead.

Dos Laredos attempted to mount an offense against Lowey in the bottom of the 8th. Juan Apodaca opened the inning by drawing a walk and moved to second on a single by Enrique Osorio. One out later, a single by Juan Martinez scored Apodaca and signaled the end to Lowey's night. The Tecolotes loaded the bases against 2 relievers but Balbino Fuenmayor struck out to end the threat and the scoring for Dos Laredos.

Juan Perez

There would be no rally in the 9th as Josh Lueke shut down the Tecolotes and Monclova won the game and the series to advance to the Zona Norte finals against either Monterrey or Tijuana. Monterrey currently leads their series 3 games to 2.