24/10/2018 2 Minute Read

Jeison Guzman’s single sends Dominican Republic to the Super Round

Dominican Republic claimed this afternoon a key victory over Czech Republic by a score of 8-7. The Caribbean team had to battle until the tenth inning to beat the Europeans, who had tied the game with a big inning.

The Dominican team started the match strong, scoring in the first two innings of the match. In the bottom of the first inning Julio Rodríguez singled and drove in Eguy Rosario for the first run of the game.

One inning later the Dominican Republic hit a pair of homers to put the game 5-0. The first was a 2-run shot by Hansel Moreno to right field to stretch differences. With two outs, then was Wendell Rijo who hit the ball out of the park, but through left field.

Edwin Adon started the game for the Dominican Republic, and hung the zero in the first four innings of the game; but in the fifth episode Czech Republic tied the game. With bases loaded and one out, Filip Smola drove in the first two runs of the game with a single to left field, and one out later Martin Muzik hit a three-run bomb to right field to put the match 5-5.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Caribbean team retook the lead, with a sacrifice fly by Rijo to center field. But again in the seventh the Czechs tied the score with a single from Smola to right field.

The nine regular episodes finished 6-6, so the game had to be defined in extra innings, where both teams started with runners in first and second, by the tiebreaker rule.

First it was the turn of the Czech Republic, who advanced to their runners with a sacrifice by Smola. However, Martin Kalabec landed a soft ground over the third base line and Jakub Ondracek was retired at home for the second out of the inning. However, three pitches later the Europeans took the lead in the game, thanks to a wild pitch from Eduardo del Rosario, who would end up being the winner of the game with a dominant performance of 3.1 innings, with no hits or walks, and 5 strikeouts .

At the bottom of the tenth, Hansel Moreno connected a short fly to right field to tie the game again, and then with the bases loaded Jeison Guzman hit a single by the center field to define the game.

With this victory Dominican Republic clinched a ticket to the Super Round, starting next Thursday in Barranquilla.