Cuban pitching continued to shine this Friday, as the Caribbean team defeated Venezuela 6-1 at Juan Demóstenes Arosemena Stadium.
This victory secured their spot in the Panamerican U18 semifinals, where they will face either Nicaragua or Panama.
The Cuban team now stands at 6-0 in this World Championship 2025 qualifier, needing just one more win to secure their place.
Remarkably, the pitcher from Ciego de Ávila, Ediel Ponce, delivered an outstanding performance by holding the Venezuelans hitless for 6 1/3 innings. Nevertheless, the no-hitter was disrupted in the seventh inning, which was promptly followed by a single that also marked the end of the shutout. Despite these setbacks, Ponce managed to strike out the last batter, ultimately concluding the pivotal game for Cuba.
Altogether, Ponce threw a total of 102 pitches, just three shy of the tournament limit of 105. During this time, he gave up two hits, two walks, hit two batters, allowed one earned run, and achieved four strikeouts. This performance was instrumental in securing a vital victory for the Caribbean team in the knockout stage.
Ponce put on an impressive pitching display, and the offense quickly responded against left-handed Venezuelan starter Axcel Rivero. In the second inning, a significant four-run rally set a positive tone for the Cuban team. Continuing his strong performance, Brian Garzón, a key hitter for Cuba, drew a walk with the bases loaded and two outs, scoring the first run. Shortly after, Osniel Castillo's single to right field brought in two more runs, aided by an error from the Venezuelan right fielder that allowed Garzón to score. With this sequence, Cuba took the lead, 4-0.
The Cuban offense struck back in the following inning, benefiting once more from the Venezuelan defense. Following two quick outs, Darian Rojas drew a walk, advanced to second base on a steal, and then reached third on Leo Sevilla's single to left field. With runners in scoring position, the first Venezuelan reliever, Yoscar Castillo, managed to strike out Yordan Manduley Jr. However, a mishandled ball by the catcher during the throw to first resulted in an error, enabling both runners to score and increasing the Cuban lead to 6-0.
With his exceptional pitching, Ponce sealed the victory that has brought Cuba to the brink of securing a spot in the World Cup. This comes after their sixth-place finish in the 2017 global tournament and a absence in the last few editions in 2019, 2021, and 2023.
It should be noted that the offensive opportunities for Cuba and the mistakes made by Venezuela played a crucial role in securing today's victory. Despite recording high scores against El Salvador (20-0) and Guatemala (12-0), the Cuban batters have generally struggled to make an impact, managing no more than four hits in their other matches. In today's win, they only achieved three hits, they also had four against Canada, one against Mexico, three against the Dominican Republic, and four in the initial extra-innings victory over Nicaragua. Cuba will need to improve their offensive output in order to compete against the home team and potential rival, Panama, in the upcoming semifinal round.
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