The fight for a coveted ticket to the Tokyo Olympics is down to four teams.
The Super Round teams and schedule are set for the WBSC Baseball Americas Olympic Qualifier in Florida. The final four games of the tournament this Friday (4 June) and Saturday (5 June) will determine who goes to the Olympics this summer as the fifth qualified team.
Dominican Republic (1-1) will go against Group B winner Venezuela to open the Super Round on Friday, while Group A winner will host Canada in the nightcap.
USA and Venezuela enter the Super Round with 1-0 records based on their respective defeats of Dominican Republic and Canada in the opening round.
Recap
World No. 10 Dominican Republic knocked out No. 15 Nicaragua, 13-3, in 8 innings, to clinch the final spot in the Super Round. Nicaragua wasted no time against Dominican starter Marcos Molina and scored in the top of the first. DR's Julio Rodriguez blasted a monster home run off Elias Gutierrez to reverse the lead in the bottom half of the frame. Luis Liberato expanded DR's lead with a three-run homer off Gutierrez in the bottom of the third. Rodriguez would add another moonshot home run later in the game, while Yefri Perez and Juan Francisco also went deep en route to the 10-run mercy rule game.
READ MORE
No. 8 Venezuela shut out No. 13 Canada, 5-0, to clinch the top spot in Group B and enter the Super Round with a spotless record. Venezuela combined eight hits against five Canadian pitchers. Designated hitter Carlos Perez went 3 for 4 with a home run. Shortstop Juriel Querecuto added a home run.
READ MORE
Results from the last two games of the opening round -- Puerto Rico vs. USA and Colombia vs Cuba -- will not have any impact on the Super Round.
