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Industriales win National Baseball Series
Mayeta’s homerun decides the game. Excellent work by
Frank Montieh, who dueled with Ormary
BY SIGFREDO BARROS —Granma daily
staff writer—
SANTIAGO DE CUBA.— For the third
time in the last five years, Industriales were
crowned champions of the National Baseball Series,
and on this occasion it took place far from their
home ground: a 4-1 victory at the Guillermón Moncada
stadium against the team from Santiago de Cuba, that
combined a tremendous performance from right-handed
pitcher Frank Montieth and a decisive home run by
first baseman Alexander Mayeta.
 Well
after midnight, when Reutilio’s groundball flew into
the glove of Abdel Quintana, and led to the 27th out
to land in Mayeta’s mitt, every member of the
Industriales team spilled out onto the field to
celebrate their victory, achieved fair and square
against an irrepressible team that never surrendered
and fought tooth and nail to level the score.
The game produced two heroes. One
was youngster Frank Montieth, a player who
demonstrated that he is one of the best opening
pitchers at the current time and the one who best
dominates Santiago, given that he has been the
winning pitcher in nine out of 12 games against the
team.
Like a maestro, he combined
curveballs with fastballs, averaging 88mph and with
a top speed of 91mph, and was able to work his way
out of tricky moments, such as in the second inning
when, with bases loaded, he struck out both Navas
and Olivera.
 The
other star was Alexander Mayeta, fourth at bat and
his team’s leading scorer, who produced the first
run of the game with a sacrifice fly and then
decided the game with a homerun slugged to right
field, after a breaking ball by Ormary Romero, and
with Yasser at first base thanks to a hit. “I didn’t
go out to slug it, I just wanted to put the ball in
play. Home runs happen and I enjoyed this one more
than any other, but for me the support of my
teammates was the most important thing,” said the
Blues first baseman at the end of game. Afterwards,
following a vote of 10-8, he was chosen as the Most
Valuable Player of the playoffs.
It was a surprise to see huge
Ormary on the mound. But, prior to the game, José
Luis Alemán assured me that “he feels good and wants
to pitch in a game as important as this.”
And he didn’t do too badly, on
the contrary, matching Montieth’s zero hits over 73
pitches – 49 strikes and 24 balls, averaging 85mph
and more fastballs than breaking balls. It was a
commendable effort, a picture of what Santiago has
represented throughout this year’s campaign, filled
with courage each time they went out onto the
diamond.
Moments after the end of the game, players from the
two teams saluted each other on the field. The
champions’ trophy was presented to manager Rey
Vicente Anglada by Misael Enamorado, member of the
Political Bureau and first secretary of the Party in
this province.
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