World No. 19 Dominican Republic defeated No. 10 Mexico, 8-3, in the final of the San Salvador 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games men’s softball competition, and claimed the gold medal at Pablo Arnoldo Guzmán in San Salvador. For the bronze medal, world No. 8 Venezuela beat No. 24 Colombia, 5-1.
Mexico and the Dominican Republic tied atop of the opening round standings with a 5-1 record, and qualified for the final. Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba tied in third place with a 3-3 mark, but the Cubans found themselves out of medal contention because of the tie-break rules.
Dominican starter Yan Carlos Gonzalez pitched a nine-strikeout complete game, giving up six hits, three runs and two walks. He posted a 1.43 ERA for the overall tournament. Samuel Villalvazo was charged with the loss for Mexico.
Dominicans Francis Medina, Wilton Robles and Pablo Figuereo tallied three hits each, with Robles hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning. For Mexico, Edgar Lopez homered in the third inning.
Final Standings
- Dominican Republic
- Mexico
- Venezuela
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Central American and Caribbean Team
- El Salvador
The women’s softball event will open on 2 July, with the participation of No. 4 Puerto Rico, No. 6 Mexico, No. 22 Venezuela, No. 28 Cuba, No. 44 Dominican Republic, No. 45 El Salvador, No. 57 Curacao and the Central American and Caribbean Team.
