Havana, November 30 (RHC) - Cuba said goodbye to next year's U-23 World Baseball Championship after losing 11-15 to Panama in the Pre-World Cup being played at the Roberto Clemente Stadium in Masaya, Nicaragua.
In a duel in which 12 pitchers paraded on the pitching mound, the Canaleros won on the strength of home runs by Joel Erasmo Caballero, with bases loaded, and Julio Gonzalez.
For the Cubans, 8 pitchers worked, including the defeated Osdany Rodríguez, who allowed 3 clean sheets, with an equal number of hits in 1.1 innings.
Offensively, Andrys Pérez (4-2, with 3 RBI) and Cristian Rodríguez (5-3) stood out for the Cubans.
For the Isthmian team, the designated hitter and fourth lumber Caballero, who hit 4-3, with 5 towers and a Grand Slam, and Julio González (4-3, with 4 RBIs and a home run) shone.
The Cubans thus finished the qualifying round with a 3-2 record, tied with the Panamanians and Venezuelans, but the tie-breaker formula (TQB) favored the Venezuelans.
In the competition, Cuba won against Costa Rica 13-0, Curacao 5-1 and Venezuela 10-5, but lost to Colombia 4-7 and Panama 11-15.
Colombia and Venezuela qualified for the World Cup from group B and Nicaragua and Puerto Rico from group A. The leaders of each group, Nicaragua and Colombia, will discuss the title on Thursday.
