México and Cuba will clash in the finals; Venezuela and Nicaragua will battle for bronze

(Press Release; WBSC-AMERICAS).- México and Cuba have made the finals in the U23 qualifier after beating Venezuela and Nicaragua respectively, who will play for the bronze.

Cuba came from behind and scored four runs in the top of the seventh to win 6-5 against a Nicaragua team that was crowned champion in the last U23 qualifier tournament.

Luis Rojas went 2-3 with a run and two batted in, while Yuri Fernández went 1-4 with two driven in. Marlo Vega locked the save in impressive fashion, by striking out all three batters.

México on the other hand shutout Venezuela 5-0 and will now play for the championship before their home crowd. They have yet to lose a game in this tournament.

 All five runs were unearned as México took advantage of Venezuela’s five errors in the game. Víctor Ruiz went 1-2 with two runs scored and another driven in. While German Revilla went 1-1 with a run and an RBI.

Also, in the fifth-place game Puerto Rico shutout Argentina 7-0, they just missed out on the World Cup berth by the head-to-head meeting with Venezuela that prevented them from advancing.

Jonathan Nieves went 1-3 with a homer, run scored and four driven in, while Yadiel Santana hit 2-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Also, Steven Ondina hit 2-3 with two runs scored.

On sunday, Venezuela and Nicaragua will face off for the bronze medal, while México and Cuba will play for the championship. They will all be headed to the U23 World Cup.

(WBSC-AMERICAS; Direction of Media Relations)