22/02/2020 - 01/03/2020

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U-18 Men's Softball World Cup 2020 - Official Payoff

Mexico 9-1 Singapore: Lopez’s 2 hits, 3 RBIs lead Mexico to eighth place finish

Mexico 9-1 Singapore: Lopez’s 2 hits, 3 RBIs lead Mexico to eighth place finish
29/02/2020
Coming off a sixth place result in the last Junior Men's Softball World Championship 2018, Mexico finished in eighth place, equalling their lowest finish ever (2016).

Fernando Lopez two hits and three RBI helped Mexico end their U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup campaign on a positive note as they wrapped up in five innings with a 9-1 win over Singapore on Saturday, finishing in eighth place at the Colquhoun Park in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Other notable performances came from Khristian Ramirez who had 2 hits and 2 RBI, while Abelardo Peñuelas and Jesus Rivera scored 2 runs each in Mexico’s final game in the tournament. Their pitcher Yahir Abelaiz worked all five innings with 5 hits and 5 strikeouts and earned his first win of the tournament in two appearances.

Mexico had a fiery start in the bottom of the first inning. After a quick out, Singapore pitcher Jason Cheng struggled with a pair of walks, a single and a hit by pitch, allowing the first Mexican run and forcing a pitching change. Ace Mathew Tan went into the circle but couldn't avoid more damage, allowing Ramirez and Rivera crossing the plate for a 3-0 edge for Mexico.

In the third inning, Ramirez produced again with an RBI double that plated Jesus Hurtado and extended the Mexico lead 4-0.

Two innings later, with pinch-runner Francisco Encinas in first base, Eloy Flores singled up the middle and both players scored on a fielding error by left fielder Nathanael Wee to bring Mexico up with a 6-0 advantage. Later Josue Martinez hit an RBI single to the left side and Fernando Lopez closed the 5-run inning with a 2-RBI single, giving Mexico a 9-0 advantage.

Singapore managed to score their only run in the fifth inning with a run-scoring single by Ean Eu, his fifth RBI of the tournament, that allowed Zu Low to reach the plate.

Coming from a sixth place result in the last Junior Men's Softball World Championship 2018, Mexico finished their participation in the U-18 Men's Softball World Cup 2020 in the eighth place, equaling their lowest finish ever (2016).

Singapore finishes the Placement Round with a 2:3 win:loss record and must wait for the other scores to know their final position in the tournament.