Press Release International Baseball Federation, www.ibaf.org
Cuba shuts out Dominican Republic in key Matchup – Four more Teams improve to 2-0
Panama City, Panama. The third day of the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup in Panama featured plenty of drama. After Cuba won a key matchup against the Dominican Republic in the afternoon, Team USA started with a loss into the tournament in the evening. Puerto Rico used a grand slam in the tenth inning to upset the defending champion. Also Korea needed an extra inning to down a surging German team. Besides Cuba, also the Netherlands, Canada, Panama and Venezuela improved to 2-0 in the competition. Italy got its first win with a shutout over Australia.
Group 1
Canada 3 – Japan 1
Canada picked up its second win of the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup on Monday afternoon at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City. They defeated Japan 3-1 thanks to timely hits and a strong pitching performance on the mound. Jimmy van Ostrand and Cole Armstrong combined to drive in three runs. Japan scored on an error.
Netherlands 19 – Greece 1
It took the Netherlands four offensive innings to get an easy 19-0 victory against Greece in the first all-European game of the 2011 Baseball World Cup, with three power shots over the fences by Mariekson Gregorius, Danny Rombley and Curt Smith.
USA 4 – Puerto Rico 8
Puerto Rico stunned defending champion USA with an 8-4 ten-inning win on Monday evening at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City. An extra inning and the IBAF Tiebreaker Rule were needed with a grand slam by Luis Figueroa being the deciding factor. Team USA had erased a 2-4 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning, but couldn’t answer again one frame later.
Chinese Taipei 8 – Panama 14
Team Panama did not betray expectations of its fans which crowded ‘Ramón Cantera’ Stadium for their game against Chinese Taipei. The home favorites made all their intentions clear since the very first inning and before the first out, with a towering grand slam hit by cleanup Fernando Seguinol off young Kuo Chun-Lin who started the game for the Asians. The final result, 14-8, gives the idea of the battle that took place on the field, highlighted by the high power shots from the Panamanian lineup, which collected a total of 18 hits with 6 for extra bases, and by the never-surrender mentality of the Asians who reacted at their best to the shocking start of their opponent.
Group 2
Cuba 3 – Dominican Republic 0
Cuba became two-game winner in the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup beating the Dominican Republic thanks to a three-run rally in the sixth (3-0). The shutout by Miguel Gonzalez and Yadier Pedroso broke the Dominican hopes as they couldn’t recover and come back. After a no-hit beginning Willy Lebron Perez allowed Cuba to score on a single by Yulieski Gourriel and they increased the advantage on the following double by Alexei Bell.
Italy 7 – Australia 0
Italy played an outstanding game and shut out (7-0) Australia to collect their first win of the Baseball World Cup. The Aussies reached third base only three times: in the first, seventh and ninth inning and Italy’s starter Chris Cooper limited them to three hits over 6.2 innings. Three relievers pitched the remaining 2.1 innings, but Cooper’s win was never actually at risk. Italy’s defense starred with third baseman Juan Carlos Infante, who came up with a couple of big plays in key moments. The Italian offense proved to be much more solid then they seemed in the debut against the Dominican Republic and combined for nine hits, four of them doubles against three Australian pitchers.
Korea 6 – Germany 5
A fast and interesting game – three hours and fifteen – gave Korea its first win thanks to a 6-5 tie-break contest with Germany. In the tenth inning a hit by Chang Min Mo decided the match reversing the German advantage. Greg Frady’s squad had to settle for a second one-run loss, coming back twice in the process.
Nicaragua 2 – Venezuela 5
Venezuela defeated Nicaragua 5-2 in “Omar Torrijos” stadium in Santiago de Veraguas for the disappointment of at least 3 radio stations from Nicaragua, that were broadcasting the game live. Carlos Mory went 6.1 innings for the win and Gabriel Alfaro collected the save pitching the final inning. Both left fielder Williams Vasquez and third baseman Saul Torres had 2 RBIs and both teams posted double figures for hits.
Notes
The rained out game from Sunday between Japan and Team USA will be made up on Wednesday at 5pm local time at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City….Cuba hasn’t allowed a run in 16 innings, holding opposing offenses to six hits and two walks…..Australia hasn’t scored in 16 innings of Baseball World Cup so far….Netherlands’s 19-0 win over Greece was the most lopsided since the Dutch team beat South Africa 20-2 and Japan took down Czech Republic 19-0 at the 2005 Baseball World Cup…..Greece is participating for the first time in a Baseball World Cup…..Team USA’s starting pitcher Todd Redmond went 3-0 with an ERA of 1.21 in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, receiving the award for the pitcher with the best W-L average
Outlook
On Tuesday Team USA will travel to Aguadulce, hoping to bounce back against Chinese Taipei. Both teams are winless so far and have pressure to get into the win column. Other matchups in Group 1 are Canada vs. Greece, Panama vs. Puerto Rico and Japan vs. Netherlands. In Group 2 all eyes will be on another game with record champion Cuba. They will square off with Venezuela, hoping to defend both – their undefeated record and their clean slate in the “runs allowed” column. Also on the clock Italy vs. Nicaragua, Germany vs. Dominican Republic and Korea vs. Australia.
Schedule, Tuesday, October 4
14h00 Japan – Netherlands
14h00 Greece – Canada
14h00 Italy – Nicaragua
14h00 Germany – Dominican Republic
19h30 Panama – Puerto Rico
19h30 Chinese Taipei – USA
19h30 Korea – Australia
19h30 Cuba – Venezuela
(local times Panama)
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