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Premier12, First Round, Pool B: Venezuela – Dominican Republic 8-6
Dominican Republic 030 200 010 6 14 2 Venezuela 101 012 30X 8 9 3
Venezuela rallied from a 2-5 deficit to defeat the Dominican Republic 8-6 in first-round play at the Premier12 in Taoyuan, Taiwan on Saturday afternoon. A bases clearing double by Luis Jimenez in the bottom of the seventh decided the outcome. It was the second win in four games for Venezuela, while the Dominican Republic remains winless in the tournament.
The Dominican team once again played a solid game, but in the end they dropped to 0-4. Three runs in the second and two in the fourth gave the squad of manager Miguel Tejada a 5-2 advantage. Singles by Robinzon Diaz in combination with errors had plated three of the five runs.
Renny Osuna tied the game with a two-run single in the sixth after Rimini’s Ray Olmedo had cut the deficit to two runs with a RBI single in the fifth. One frame later Juan Luis Rivera, Gregorio Petit – who had a solo home run earlier in the game – and Olmedo loaded the bases. Jimenez stepped to the plate and hit the first pitch he saw to right center for a three-run double. This was the game winner.
A RBI double by Anderson Feliz got the Dominican team on the board one more time in the eighth, but it didn’t initiate a comeback.
Venezuela closes out the first round on Sunday with a game against Japan, while the Dominican Republic faces Mexico.