Dominican Republic aims for podium in U-12 Baseball World Cup debut

World No. 7 Dominican Republic will be the last of the National Teams participating in the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup to reach Tainan, but the squad that is loaded with the island's top talent will be ready to compete.

"We have worked against time," commented manager Alvaro Samboy, "but with enough room to form a squad capable of fighting for one of the three medals."

“For us as a sport, it is a challenge, as well as a pride to represent the country in this age bracket, since it will be the first time that the Dominican Republic competes in a U-12 World Cup,” added Samboy.

The Dominican Republic won the 2021 U-12 Pan American Baseball Championship to qualify for the country's first-ever appearance in the U-12 Baseball World Cup.

Samboy told the local press that the Dominican U-12 World Cup roster has depth in offence, defence and pitching, and is a technically sound team that has "mastered the fundamentals".

The Dominican Republic will start out the world championship tournament out of Group B, along with superpowers Japan, Korea and USA, in addition to one of Europe's top teams, the Czech Republic.

The top three teams from the group will advance to the Super Round.

The Dominican Republic's coaching staff includes Luis González and Jairo Dumé. The selection process started from 82 players from all over the country and lasted three months.

The WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup will run from Friday, 29 July, to Sunday, 7 August.