Guatemala has been crowned Central American Men’s Champions following a thrilling 8-7 walk-off win over Panama at the Central American Men’s Softball Championship in Honduras. Guatemala came from behind after a five-run deficit to repeat the regional title. Jose Pedro Pemueller produced the championship’s winning run with a single.
In the fifth inning the champions were down by five runs, but tied the game in the sixth with a homer by Juan Pablo Orellana to make it a 7-7 ballgame. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Guatemala loaded the bases. An RBI single by Pemueller allowed Jorge Hernandez to score the winning run.
To the start of the playoffs, Panama handed Guatemala their only loss in an 8-3 game to reach the final behind a great pitching performance by Leonel Zuñiga. The loss forced Guatemala to play Honduras for the second spot in the final. In a win-or-go-home game, Guatemala eliminated the host team with a crushing 11-1 victory in five innings to reach the finale. Honduras then went on to defeat El Salvador in the Bronze Medal game.
Finishing out of the playoffs, Costa Rica and Nicaragua also played the tournament.
