The Leñadores de Las Tunas, entrenched in their Julio Antonio Mella stadium, again brought out their sharp axes today to secure their sixth consecutive victory and remain in command of the 64th edition of the National Baseball Series.

The green-and-red troops defeated the Gallos de Sancti Spíritus for a second time, this time by knockout 14-2, on a day when their closest pursuers, the Matanzas Cocodrilos, slipped on their own turf and Industriales got their revenge to recover the tournament’s third place.

The Tuneros again relied on the arm of Yosmel Garcés, who notched his eighth win of the championship without a single loss blemishing his record.

The Santiago Avispas awoke at the Victoria de Girón and hammered the Cocodrilos 12-2, breaking a streak of four victories and keeping their qualification hopes alive.

Edilse Silva hit his sixth home run of the campaign and Andy Rodríguez his eighth, to lead an attack of 12 rockets that left the saurians breathless.

Eider Pérez took the credit for the clash and Roilán Averohff bore the defeat.

At the Calixto García in Holguín, Industriales relied on an offence of 12 hits and the mound work of Raymond Figueredo, to knock out the Cachorros of that province 10-0 and lower them to the fourth step in the overall standings.

The right-handed pitcher hurled six innings with absolute dominance against one of the most dangerous lineups of the campaign, while his felines batted at will against the defeated starter Uberleydis Estévez and his substitute José Antonio Sánchez.

Yosvani Peñalver, Ariel Sánchez and Pedro Roque sent the ball over the padding.

At the Nelson Fernández, the Huracanes de Mayabeque left the Guantanamo Indios lying on the field, with a final score of 6-5, and jumped to fifth place in the table, while the Alazanes de Granma dusted off yesterday’s defeat and defeated the Cienfuegos Elefantes 2-1, in a duel of pitchers and cold bats, lowering their rivals to sixth place.

For their part, the Cazadores de Artemisa got their revenge against the Camagüey Toros on the grass of the Cándido González, by subduing them with a final score of 5-4, to remain firmly in the privileged zone.

In other results, the Vegueros de Pinar del Río avenged themselves 7-5 against the Ciego de Ávila Tigers at the Capitán San Luis and the Villa Clara Leopardos, as hosts at the Augusto César Sandino, again defeated the Isla de la Juventud Pirates, this time with a score of 11-1.