23/09/2021 - 02/10/2021

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III U-23 Baseball World Cup 2020 - Official Payoff

Colombia opens U-23 World Cup Group B with a win

Colombia opens U-23 World Cup Group  B with a win
23/09/2021
Colombia defeats Panama 7-1 to start the U-23 World Cup in style.

Three years after hosting the second U-23 Baseball World Cup on home soil, Colombia opened the third one with a win.

With a dominant effort from starting pitcher Elkin Alcala and pair of three-run innings at the plate, world No. 15 Colombia opened its pursuit of a U-23 World Cup title with a 7-1 victory over world No. 13 Panama in the opening game of Group B play at Estadio Sonora in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico on Thursday afternoon.

Backed by a stellar day from his offense, starter Alcala stole the show for Colombia. The right-hander tossed a complete game -- in the first WBSC Baseball World Cup with seven-inning contests -- by allowing just one run on four hits. The 24-year-old was efficient, needing just 69 pitches, 54 for strikes, to breeze through his first outing of the tournament. Alcala struck out four batters without issuing a walk.

Colombia grabbed the game’s first lead in the second inning and never let it go. Jesus Marriaga opened the scoring with and RBI single to right field to plate Leandros Emiliani, and two batters later, Colombia leadoff man Brayan Buelvas reached on an error charged to Panama left fielder Erick Mordock that scored Gustavo Campero and Marriaga.

After Panama’s Joshwan Wright belted a solo homer to left field in the fourth for his team’s lone run of the game, Colombia answered with a run in the bottom half on an RBI single up the middle by Marriaga. Then the home team broke things open in the sixth. Dayan Frias and Buelvas worked bases loaded walks, and Campero scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch to cap his team’s scoring.

Marriaga was the only player with multiple hits on either side and the only Colombian batter with multiple RBIs.

Starter Meliton Reyes took the loss for Panama, charged with three runs (one earned) on two hits in 1 2/3 innings pitched.

Panama moves on to Day 2 of the Opening Round with a 10:30 matchup against world No. 14 Nicaragua while Colombia will square off with rival Venezuela, the world No. 10, at 19:30 on Friday night in Hermosillo.