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14-run second inning lifts Puerto Rico over Houston

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Juan Pitre stood in the dugout at Lew Hays Pony Field and watched as Houston scored four runs in the top of the first inning Friday night.

The Mayaguez, Puerto Rico manager did not mind that his starting pitcher, Dylan Gonzalez, needed 22 pitches to escape an inning where he allowed a two-run homer and looked erratic on the mound. There was no thought of finding a replacement.

It was a scenario that unfolded in the Caribbean Zone Tournament, so Pitre did not panic. With one out, he walked slowly to the mound, gathered his infielders and spoke intently to his players. The message was to get out of the inning and get to the plate.

Gonzalez got the next two outs and Pitre’s words rang true. Mayaguez scored 17 unanswered runs, including a 14-run second inning, to defeat Houston, 17-4, in five innings to open the 2015 Pony League World Series.

Mayaguez advances to the second round, where it will face Chinese Taipei, the Asia-Pacific Zone champions, today at 5:30 p.m. Houston will face Johnstown at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Puerto Rico scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning before putting together a second inning that included 14 runs on seven hits, four of which were home runs. Pitre’s players batted through the order twice and 14 consecutive hitters reached base. Three different pitchers appeared in the inning for Houston, walking five, hitting two batters and working through a fielding error.

Right fielder Brian Soto hit a two-run homer, first baseman Joseph Ramos added a three-run shot seven batters later, Gonzalez hit a grand slam and catcher Gabriel Rivera, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, smacked a three-run homer that sailed over the left field fence and into colt field at Washington Park.

When asked through a translator if he thought his offense would ever hit four home runs in one inning – the first time it had ever been done in the world series – at a tournament of this magnitude, Pitre did not mince words.

“Si,” Pitre said quickly with a laugh.

The onslaught began with a single by Rivera, followed by Soto’s home run to right field and third baseman Kenen Irizarry was hit by a pitch with one out. Houston starting pitcher Christopher French walked two more batters to load the bases before he was relieved by Chad Allen.

Allen walked in a run, allowed a two-run single to Jafnell Rivera and an RBI single to Kendrick Crespo as Mayaguez jumped out to an 8-4 lead.

Four pitches later, Rivera delivered a three-run homer.

“We just had a bad inning. Pitching kind of fell apart; you get a few walks, hit by pitches here and there,” Houston manager Kyle Vance said. “Throw in a couple home runs and (the pitchers) just kind of fell flat. Take away that bad inning and it’s a tie ball game, essentially, but you can’t.”

Shortstop Odrick Pitre hit an RBI single and Gonzalez added a grand slam – the 43rd in series’ history – to make it 16-4. Houston’s third pitcher in the inning, Jeffrey First, hit one more batter – the 14th consecutive batter to reach base – before recording the final two outs of the inning.

Gonzalez took over from there. He retired five consecutive batters, allowing a double in the third inning, before shifting to first base. Paul Rivera and Josuan Lugo pitched the fourth and fifth innings respectively, combining to not allow a hit to secure the victory.

In the top of the first inning, Houston shortstop Keagan Vance, Arjun Parikh delivered an RBI single and Dylan Berg scored on a wild pitch for the 4-0 lead.

“The pitchers began a little cold because back home, we have more heat,” Pitre said. “The weather here is more chilly than they are used to. Once they got confident and pitched in it, they threw well.”

Odrick Pitre cut the deficit to two runs in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer to right field and Mayaguez scored its other run in the fourth when Crespo’s double down the right-field line scored Erick Rivera.

“It feels so good because the coaches and the players gained more confidence to stay in the same rhythm,” Juan Pitre said. “A victory helps with that. I’m proud of the players because they worked too hard to get here and they deserved the first victory.”

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