Montealto stars, Nicaragua beats Korea

Montealto stars, Nicaragua beats Korea
24/09/2021
The outfielder hit a double, a home run and batted in five of the six runs the Pan American U-23 Champions scored.

After two years away from WBSC Baseball World Cup play, Nicaragua returned with an upset.

Behind a five-RBI game from Luis Montealto, world No. 14 Nicaragua stunned second-ranked Korea with a 6-4 victory on the first afternoon of Group B play for the III U-23 Baseball World Cup in Hermosillo.

Nicaragua seized the afternoon’s first lead in an odd third inning. After William Rayo led off with a single to left field, he moved to second when Cristhian Sandoval was hit by a pitch and to third when Aldo Espinoza laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the pair. Korea starting pitcher Dong Ju Moon then lost his command, hitting Benjamin Alegría with a pitch to load the bases and Elián Miranda with another to plate Rayo with the game’s first run.

Thursday’s visiting team held the lead until the bottom of the fifth when Korea came alive. Pinch-hitting out of the eighth spot in his team’s lineup, Hyo Won Jo led off with a single through the left side and moved to second on Do Yeong Kim’s single to right-center two batters later. Dong Hyeok Kim singled to plate Jo, and two batters later, Myeon Jun Ko singled to center to drive in two more, giving Korea its first lead.

It was short-lived. In the top of the sixth, Miranda led off with a single, and Montealto followed with his team’s first homer of the tournament to knot the score at 3-3.

In the seventh, Nicaragua took control. With the bases loaded after Espinoza, Alegría and Miranda all worked walks against Seung Woo Ju, Montealto powered a bases-clearing double that one-hopped the wall in left field and put his team in front for good.

Julio Raudez pitched through trouble to nail down the save, allowing one run in the seventh but getting Jae Hyuk Kim on a high bouncer back to the mound for the final out as the potential tying run at the plate.

Coming off its victory, Nicaragua faces world No. 13 Panama on Friday morning at 10:30 while Korea will try to rebound against world No. 8 the Netherlands at 15:00.