By: Pavhel Rochin

Culiacán, Sinaloa.- JAPAC and Dodgers will dispute the grand final of the 50th Anniversary season of the JAPAC League, after prevailing in their respective third semifinal games. The host team narrowly defeated Lecani 1-0, while Dodgers beat STRIKEOUT-GZ Contadores 8-4 to secure their ticket to the championship series.

JAPAC secured the victory thanks to an outstanding pitching performance from Radamés Robledo, who pitched six innings, allowed five hits, and issued only one walk. Bruce Barrueta completed the job from the bullpen with a two-inning performance, in which he allowed one hit, granted two walks, and struck out two batters. The only run came in the seventh inning, when César Espinoza hit a double, Santiago Camarena reached base on an error, and Marcos Zamudio drove him in with a single to right field. For Lecani, Luis Eduardo Urías pitched six scoreless innings and Luis Alfonso Leyva took the loss after allowing the decisive run.

In the other semifinal, Dodgers took advantage of four defensive errors by STRIKEOUT-GZ Contadores to take the lead and ultimately win 8-4. Fidel Alba hit a home run and was one of the offensive stars, while Yahir Yerena and Said Villalobos contributed three hits each; Jonathan Villalobos stood out by going 4-4. For the defeated team, Josué Gómez went 5-3 with two RBIs. Priscy Ramos earned the win with 6.1 innings and three earned runs allowed, backed by 2.2 scoreless innings from José Ángel Sauceda; Arnold León was the losing pitcher.