LNM Finals: 10th inning doubles give Ensenada Game 7 win

Back-to-back doubles by Alberto Querales and Edgar Duran with one out in the bottom of the tenth inning gave the Ensenada Marineros a 3-2 win over the San Luis Algodoneros Wednesday night in Game 7 of the North Mexican League championship series, ending the season with the LNM flag going to the Pacific coast city for the first time since 2012.

The Marineros drew first blood in the bottom of the third when Orlando Pina lofted a leadoff homer against Cottoneers starter Daniel Bloch, one of two hits Bloch would allow in three-and-two-thirds innings of work.  Ensenada took a 2-1 lead three innings later when Querales led off the sixth with his first double of the night, moved to third via a Duran sacrifice and scored on a single from 37-year-old Barbaro Canizares.  Canizares is a former Cuban National Series star who had a cup of coffee with Atlanta in 2009 and led the Mexican League with a .396 average in 2011 for Oaxaca before setting a Mexican Pacific League record with 20 homers in 2011-12 for Obregon (who won three consecutive LMP titles while Canizares played there).

Ensenada's two-run advantage was quickly erased in the top of the seventh when, with two out, Juan Carlos Torres singled and Jackson Valera crashed a two-run homer for San Luis against Marineros starter Arturo Florentino, who'd been working on a no-hitter until Torres broke his spell.  The 2-2 tie carried into extra innings.  Lazaro Leal's two-out double in the top of the frame put the go-ahead run on second for the Algodoneros, only to see the threat die when Jesus Caporal's fly ball was caught for the third out.  After Roman Sesteaga grounded out to open the bottom of the tenth for Ensenada, Querales doubled off veteran hurler Francisco Cordoba, a San Luis native who spent 12 seasons in the LMB (mostly with Quintana Roo) and compiled a 63-63 Liga career record.  Cordoba then served up a walkoff double to Duran that plated Querales with the pennant-winning run.

It was a fitting way to close the season for Ensenada, a team that won both halves of the Liga Norte schedule to finish the regular season with a 52-31 overall record before sweeping Puerto Penasco in the first round of the LNM playoffs.  Duran had an MVP-worthy season for the Marineros, leading the circuit in both runs scored (81) and RBIs (77) while finishing second in homers (16) and sixth in batting (.334).  For his part, Querales gave Ensenada another solid bat in the order by finishing fourth in batting (.339) and third in RBIs (67) while Canizares hit .369 with ten homers (tied for sixth) in just 44 games as the Marineros hit .296 as a team while scoring 6.3 runs per game.

Puerto Penasco infielder Jermy Acey, a longtime veteran of independent leagues north of the border, led the LNM with a .358 average while Marcos Vecionacci of San Quintin edged Duran for the home run crown with 17 longballs.  Caborca's Carlos Colmenares and Randy Reyes of Puerto Penasco tied for the lead in stolen bases with 22 swipes each, with Colmenares caught stealing twice while Reyes was gunned down eleven times.

Elian Leyva of Puerto Penasco turned in an 11-3 record to lead the Liga Norte in wins while Ensenada's Wanel Vasquez (who was rocked by San Luis in Tuesday's Game 6) came in second with 10 triumphs.  Leyva also had a league-best 1.18 WHIP.  Vasquez topped the loop with 92 strikeouts in 96 innings, but he also gave up 43 walks and unfurled 14 wild pitches en route to a 3.66 ERA.  Marineros starter Alexis Lara also had a standout season on the mound, going 9-2 and leading the LNM with a 2.96 ERA.  Ensenada closer Rafael Cova, who did not pitch in Wednesday's Game 7, was easily tops in saves with 20.

Each of the North Mexican League's six teams receive the majority of their players from two Mexican League teams.  The Marineros, managed by former LMB star Victor Bojorquez, are affiliated with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos (Bojorquez' former team) and Oaxaca Guerreros, both owned by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu. Another Diablos-Guerreros affiliate clinched the Academy AA League pennant in late July but the parent clubs are in danger of missing the Liga postseason.

Ensenada wins both Liga Norte halves, playoffs open Saturday

Jermy Acey, interviewed by actor Branscombe Richmond

The Ensenada Marineros parlayed a four-run eighth inning into an 8-5 comeback win over Puerto Penasco Thursday night to clinch the North Mexico League's second-half championship with a 25-17 record, one game ahead of the 24-18 San Quintin Freseros.  Alberto Querales went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs for the Marineros while Miguel Rodriguez slashed a two-run double in the decisive eighth, giving the home team a final season record of 52-31 and winning both halves to collect 16 total points toward playoff seeding.  Defending champion San Quintin (48-36) finished second in both halves to come in at 14 playoff points.  San Luis (40-43) came in third with 10.5 points and Puerto Penasco (41-43) rounds out the playoff field as the Tiburones picked up 11.5 points.  Caborca (37-45) and Mexicali (31-51) will both miss the postseason.

The Liga Norte is considered as Class AA within Mexico's pro baseball structure, with each of the circuit's six franchises sharing affiliations with two Mexican League teams.  The LNM is one of two AA leagues in the Mexican system; the other plays at the Mexican League Academy campus near Monterrey.  Ensenada is a farm team for the Mexico City and Oaxaca that (unlike their all-Mexican LMB parent clubs) has ten non-Mexican players on their 29-man roster, including San Diego-born infielder Nick Guerra, considered "nationals" via his Mexican-American status.  Guerra hit .250 in 25 games for the Marineros.

A minor league veteran outfielder from Texas had a banner year at the plate in the LNM this summer. Puerto Penasco outfielder Jermy Acey, a former Blue Jays farmhand who's played independent ball since 2006, led the Liga Norte in batting with a .358 average and 106 hits, finished third in RBIs (63) and tied for sixth in homers (10).   San Quintin's Marcos Veccionacci's 17 roundtrippers were tops in the loop while Edgar Duran of Ensenada led in RBIs with 77.  Vecchionacci had an MVP-type year for the Freseros, finishing third in the batting derby at .344 and coming in second to Duran (81) with 72 runs scored.  Duran was another standout, hitting .334 (sixth in the Liga Norte batting derby) and coming in second with 16 homers.

There are several LNM Pitcher of the Year candidates for 2017.  Elian Leyva of Puerto Penasco went 11-1 to lead the circuit in wins, followed by the 10 victories of Ensenada's Wanel Vasquez.  The latter registered 92 strikeouts to tie San Quintin starter Yeiper de Jesus Castillo and matched San Luis' Daniel Bloch for fourth on the ERA table at 3.66.  Leyva was also first with a 1.18 WHIP, finished third in ERA with a 3.34 mark (Ensenada's Alexis Lara was first at 2.92) and fourth in strikeouts with 78 ponches.  Ensenada closer Rafael Cova's 20 saves topped the chart, followed by Caborca's Loiger Luis Padron's 15.  Cova had a 1.87 ERA with 40 strikeouts over 33.2 innings.

The Liga Norte held its All-Star Weekend at Puerto Penasco, culminating with a June 10 Sonora win over Baja California by a 3-1 score.  Cuban Lazaro Leal of San Luis was named Game MVP.  Before the All-Star contest, Leal's Algodoneros teammate, Juan Carlos Torres, won the Home Run Derby.

The Liga Norte playoffs will open Saturday with a pair of semifinal games.  Top-seed Ensenada will host #4 Puerto Penasco while second-ranked (and 2016 titlist) San Quintin hosts San Luis.  The winners of the best-of-seven series will collide in the North Mexico League's Championship Series in another set scheduled for seven games, starting July 25.