PANAMA CITY, Panama – In a fierce battleground of baseball powerhouses, No. 9 Venezuela remains the only undefeated squad after three days in the inaugural Pan American U-23 Baseball Championship, where the top four nations will advance to the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2018.
VEN 2-0 CUB
Behind the 153 khm/95 mph fastball of San Francisco Giants prospect Cesar Yanez, Venezuela shut out No. 5 Cuba, 2-0, on Sunday. Ricardo Marcano (Chicago Cubs Class A – MLB) blasted an RBI-triple off Cuban fire-baller Yoelkis Cespedes (WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2015) in the bottom of the 7th inning to put the first run on the scoreboard. Marcano then scored on a sac-fly to complete the game’s scoring.
DOM 5-4 PAN
Dominican Republic pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts and Yoel Gonzalez (Pittsburgh Pirates Class A – MLB) blasted a 3-run home run to help give No. 15 Panama its first loss. Jose Batista earned the win for Dominican Republic, while teammate Yohan Ramirez (Houston Astros Class A – MLB) hit a tournament high 154.5 khm/96 mph in relief.
BRA 6-5 COL (12 Innings)
Brazil and Colombia held each other scoreless for 11 innings before Brazil broke out for six runs in the top of the 12th. Milton Ramos (Baltimore Orioles Class A – MLB) blasted a grand slam that brought Colombia within one run, before Brazil relief pitcher Thiago Takiyuma entered the game and struck out the final two batters.
Other scores
- HON 4-1 CRC
- MEX 16-0 PER
- PUR 9-0 ARG
Standings (Top 3 from each group advance to the Super Round)
| Group A |
Group B |
| DOM 2-1 |
VEN 3-0 |
| HON 2-1 |
CUB 2-1 |
| MEX 2-1 |
PUR 2-1 |
| PAN 2-1 |
BRA 1-2 |
| CRC 1-2 |
COL 1-2 |
| PER 0-3 |
ARG 0-3 |
