Humacao becomes champion after 70 years of waiting

The long wait for the Humacao Grays came to an end this Saturday, when they established themselves as the new kings of Double A Superior Baseball with a 5-4 victory over the Braves, before more than 3,500 fans at the Jesús María Freire de Cidra stadium.

It is only the second championship of the long-lived franchise, which did not carry the highest award since 1951.

It is also the first championship for Juan ‘Igor’ González as manager in Double A, in his debut season with the Grays.

“Those boys gave themselves on the field and the Humacao fans were with us from day one, supporting us and giving their best to play a high ball,” said González, former Major League Baseball player and National Team leader.

Humacao led from the third inning with three touchdowns. The first round came off a single by Alexis Cruz and the other two after a wild pitch by reliever Roy Geigel combined with an error by catcher Alexander Marquez.

In the fifth inning, the Grays added a pair of touchdowns to go on a 5-0 breakaway through a single by René Meléndez. Right-hander José Soler pitched six innings with four runs allowed, three of them undeserved. He struck out four batters and was hit four hits.

The rest of the way was covered by Jimmy González and Christian Flecha, who prevented the advance of the Braves. Soler was voted the MVP of the final series by starring in two of his team’s four victories at the coronation ball.

Left-hander Efraín Nieves took the loss for the Braves. In 6.2 innings they had six hits with three touchdowns, with two earned. Veteran pitcher Iván Maldonado handcuffed the Grays in the last three chapters of the game without giving way to liberties and six strikeouts delivered.

Cidra came dangerously close in the challenge with three lines in the sixth inning, thanks to Francisco Rosario’s home run with two on board and they added their fourth career in the seventh inning.

At the end of the meeting, the president of the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation, Dr. José Quiles Rosas, presented the champion trophy to attorney Ricardo Fernández. He was accompanied by the federative vice president, Carlos Príncipe Díaz and the executive director, Efraín Williams González.

Champions of the last 10 seasons:

2021 – Humacao Grays

2019 – Juncos Mules

2018 – Toritos de Cayey

2017 – Sultans of Mayagüez

2016 – Braves de Cidra

2015 – Artisans of Las Piedras

2014 – Utuado Highlanders

2013 – Braves de Cidra

2012 – Bravos de Cidra

2011 – Jueyeros de Maunabo

.

We would like to say thanks to the author of this short article for this remarkable content

Humacao becomes champion after 70 years of waiting