The second edition of the U-15 Caribbean Baseball Cup, organized by the Caribbean Baseball Confederation (COCABE) and the Bahamas Baseball Association, is scheduled to take place in Nassau, Bahamas from December 4-9.
The Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium in Nassau will be the venue for this tournament, featuring teams from Cuba—who have finally confirmed their participation and are already in the host country after initially facing participation issues—Dominican Republic, United States Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten, and the host country, Bahamas.
This tournament undoubtedly offers a platform for many talents in this category to compete at a high level and gain international exposure, especially with the expected presence of several scouts from various MLB organizations.
The timetable features a round-robin stage from December 4 to 8, with two games daily. The top two teams will vie for the championship, while the teams in third and fourth place will face off in the bronze medal match.
Although the schedule shows the official opening at 6:00 pm today, local time, just thirty minutes before the match between the home team and Sint Maarten, the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic teams will play the tournament's first game at two in the afternoon. Cuba will not play on this initial date.
The Cubans' schedule will start on Thursday at 2:00 pm, when they will compete against the Virgin Islands. For this match, left-hander Carlos Sarduy is confirmed as the starting pitcher.
Starting from that moment, the schedule features games against the Dominican Republic on Friday at 6:00 pm, against Sint Maarten on Saturday at 2:00 pm, and concludes on Sunday, December 8 against the Bahamas at 6:00 pm.
The Cuban team comes with the goal of winning the title, as stated by its manager Walmer Urrutia to sports commentator Evyan Guerra, vice president of the COPABE press commission.
Similar to other categories, the Cubans have experienced a decline in their level, largely due to the ongoing migration of players, including those at very young ages. An instance of this is seen in the U-15 category, where after securing the runner-up position in the 2022 world championship—losing 4-3 in the final against the United States—the team did not qualify for the 2024 world edition, finishing seventh in the Pan American qualifier last March.
The first edition of the U-15 Caribbean Cup was held in 2022 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with the presence of the teams from Haiti, the US Virgin Islands and the home team. Precisely the Dominican Republic took the title, after two round-robin rounds in which it finished undefeated (4-0) against its rivals.
In summary, the Cuban team's roster was assembled last Monday, with a focus on the strength of its pitching, as Urrutia himself noted.
TEAM CUBA TO THE U-15 CARIBBEAN CUP
Pitchers (5): Lekian Acosta, Jorge M. Tur, Carlos G. Sarduy, José A. Arias and Joseph L. Arias
Catchers (2): Yoán M. Acosta and José Y. Muñíz
Infielders (6): Javier R. Roque, Cristian M. González, Miguel A. Chirino, Antonio A. Nolazco, Hanley M. Hernández and Damián de Jesús Díaz
Outfielders (5): Lexter J. Castillo, Marcos del Toro, Cristian A. Aguilera, José A. Jiménez and Rafael A. Tarín
