Panama City, Aug 2 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban team won today 2-1 against its Nicaraguan counterpart in its debut in the Pan American under-18 tournament, which will give three tickets to the 2025 World Cup in this category.
At the capital’s Juan D. Arosemena stadium, in a tight match that went into extra innings, the team led by Michael González was superior to those from Managua with an outstanding performance by its pitchers, Ediel Ponce (starter) and Christian Rego, who closed the match in the ninth inning of seven regulations.
In statements to Prensa Latina, coach Gonzalez praised the quality of the tournament, which he knew about beforehand, and also highlighted the responsibility with which his pupils faced this clash, which was not characterized by a great offense – only five hits – but they played well on defense, the pitching did its job and that’s where the victory came from, he stressed.
Tomorrow the Caribbeans will face the Dominican Republic, a difficult match, according to experts.
In other matches of the day, Brazil was superior to Costa Rica (8-0), while Canada beat Guatemala by knockout 13-3 in five innings.
At the Rod Carew stadium, also in this capital, the Pan American will have the opening game on Friday night between Puerto Rico and the team of the host country, Panama, which announced right-hander Dereck Gomez as the starter.
This regional tournament will take place until August 11 with the participation of 13 teams and grants three places for the World Cup, in which Panama, as the host of the U18, has qualified for the highest event in the category.
In the competition, Group A is made up of Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.
While in Group B, the United States, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Costa Rica and the host Panama will compete.
According to the organizing committee, the competition will have a first stage of all against all in their respective groups.
Then there will be a series of crossed quarterfinals, the winners advance to the semifinals and those who win to the games for medals and places in the World Cup next year in Panama.
The best U18 players will also add points to the ranking of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC, for its acronym in English).
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