NASSAU, Bahamas, May 25, 2013 (AFP) - After 24 of a scheduled 36 holes, Moreno had a nine-under par total of 81 and was one stroke in front of Australian Lindsey Wright.
Wright birdied a sensational seven of her 12 holes in the second round to lie eight-under par through 24 holes.
The truncated format was forced by a massive storm on Tuesday, that dropped more than a foot of rain on the Ocean Club Golf Course.
"It's been exciting and I just focus on what I can control and the holes ahead of me," Moreno said. "I'm very excited for tomorrow."
Moreno has two victories on the Symetra Tour and finished second on the Road to the LPGA last season to regain LPGA status.
A tie for 23rd at the 2013 LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf is her career-best finish.
"The only thing that matters right now is the first tee tomorrow," she said.
Her four birdies on Saturday included a 25-foot putt at the sixth hole.
Wright put her sizzling 38 down to "faultless golf."
"I didn't make any mistakes. I made a ton of putts," said the Australian, whose best LPGA finish came at the 2009 LPGA Championship, where she was runner-up. She won three times on the Symetra Tour before joining the LPGA in 2005.
South Korea's Ji Eun-Hee and Paraguay's Julieta Granada were tied for third on seven-under par.
Seven players were tied at six-under, including American Cristie Kerr, who is back in action this week for the first time since winning the Kingsmill Championship earlier this month,
Kerr was joined at six-under by fellow Americans Heather Bowie Young and Mina Harigae, South Korea's Seo Hee-Kyung, Lee Il-Hee and Park Hee-Young and Sweden's Anna Nordqvist.
LPGA officials came up with the plan for three rounds of 12 holes in a bid to complete the 36 holes that are required for a tournament to be official.
On Saturday, the tour said in a statement it was on track to achieve that goal.
"Tournament officials expect to complete 36 holes of golf by Sunday evening, making the inaugural Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic an official event with official money," the tour said in a statement.
"If the final round of 12 holes cannot be completed for any reason, the tournament will revert back to a 24-hole unofficial event with unofficial money paid based on performance over the first two rounds."
The only way the tournament will carry over to Monday, officials said, is to begin or complete a playoff.
Leading second-round scores on Saturday in the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic (USA unless noted, 12-hole round, par-45)
81 - Paola Moreno (COL) 40-41
82 - Lindsey Wright (AUS) 44-38
83 - Ji Eun-Hee (KOR) 43-40, Julieta Granada (PAR) 41-42
84 - Cristie Kerr 44-40, Mina Harigae 42-42, Seo Hee-Kyung (KOR) 42-42, Lee Il-Hee (KOR) 41-43, Park Hee-Young (KOR) 41-43, Anna Nordqvist (SWE) 40-44, Heather Bowie Young 39-45
85 - Morgan Pressel 43-42, Paula Creamer 43-42, Jessica Korda 42-43, Mika Miyazato (JPN) 42-43, Dori Carter 42-43, Choi Na-Yeon (KOR) 42-43, Katie Futcher 42-43, Karine Icher (FRA) 41-44, Maude-Aimee Leblanc (CAN) 41-44, Suzann Pettersen (NOR) 41-44, Oh Ji-Young (KOR) 41-44, Silvia Cavalleri (ITA) 39-46, Mindy Kim 39-46