Estrellas win 12-7 over Águilas on six-run 10th-inning rally

Six runs in the 10th inning decided a game in which 22 pitchers were used at Estadio Cibao.

The Estrellas Orientales beat the Águilas Cibaeñas 12-7 at Estadio Cibao, in a game decided by a six-run rally in the top of the 10th inning.

The visitors took an early lead. In the first inning, César Prieto scored on a wild pitch by starter Dylan File, and José Tena hit a single that drove in two runs. The Águilas cut the deficit in the bottom of that same inning, when Steward Berroa crossed the plate on a wild pitch by Trevor Bauer. The home team tied it 3-3 in the fourth and took a 4-3 lead in the sixth.

In the eighth, the Estrellas tied it 4-4. Then Jorge Bonifacio, pinch-hitting, hit a solo home run that gave the Águilas a 5-4 lead. The Orientales answered in the ninth: Euribiel Ángeles opened with a double and scored on a single by Marco Luciano, and Quero drove in the run that made it 6-5. The Águilas tied it again in the bottom of that inning with a double by Christopher Morel, who scored on a single by Robert Moore.

In the 10th, the Estrellas scored six times off Nathanael Heredia and Alfred Morillo. Óscar González scored on a fielder's choice by Harold Ramírez, Ángeles drove in a run with a single, and Quero drew a bases-loaded walk. Wilín Rosario hit a single that drove in two runs, and a wild pitch by Morillo let Quero score again, making it 12-6. The Águilas scored once in the bottom of the inning on a ground ball by Jasson Domínguez that allowed Berroa to score, but they could not tie the game.

The Estrellas finished with 17 hits to the Águilas' nine. Luis García (1-0) earned the win despite allowing the ninth-inning tie, while Heredia (0-1) took the loss. Quero finished with three RBIs, and Tena and Ramírez led the Orientales' offense.