Team USA and Cuba remain the lone undefeated teams at the Pan Am/Baseball World Cup Qualifier in Puerto Rico. The US squad scored seven runs in the third en route to a 13-6 victory over Colombia. Ten players collected at least a hit and scored a run for the team of manager Ernie Young. Mike Moustakas drove in three. Cuba trailed 0-1 against Nicaragua until the top of the seventh when they were able to plate two runs. One frame later they blew things wide open with a six-run rally to seal an 8-1 victory. Hector Olivera Jr. went 4-for-5 with a walk and two RBI. Ariel Pestano scored twice.
Three more games were played on Monday, as the matchup between the Dominican Republic and Aruba got rained out. Puerto Rico scored twice in the top of the ninth to hand Panama its first loss of the tournament with a 7-6 victory. Gabriel Martinez hit a solo shot in the ninth. Ramon Vazquez crossed the plate three times for the host. Former Major League pitcher turned outfielder Adam Loewen went 3-for-4 with a homerun, three runs scored and five RBI in 13-2 rout by Canada over Argentina. Jimmy van Ostrand and Chris Robinson also scored thrice. Venezuela overcame a 0-6 deficit against the Netherlands Antilles to win it 10-8 in walk-off style in the tenth thanks to a two-run homerun by Dirimo Chavez. Wuilliams Vasquez and Javier Colina homered during a five-run rally in the seventh to even the score and to force extra innings.
Results Day 4:
October 4:
Group A:
USA – Colombia 13-6
Dominican Republic – Aruba postponed
Puerto Rico – Panama 7-6
Group B:
Netherlands Antilles – Venezuela 6-8 (10)
Argentina – Canada 2-13 (7)
Cuba – Nicaragua 8-1
Complete Results, Box scores on BaseballdeCuba.com
Standings:
Group A:
- USA 3-0
- Panama 2-1
- Dominican Republic 2-1
- Puerto Rico 2-2
- Colombia 1-3
- Aruba 0-3
Group B:
- Cuba 3-0
- Venezuela 3-1
- Canada 2-1
- Nicaragua 1-2
- Netherlands Antilles 0-2
- Argentina 0-3
Schedule Day 5:
- 1pm Panama – Aruba
- 1pm Venezuela – Nicaragua
- 1pm Netherlands Antilles – Argentina
- 7.30pm USA – Dominican Republic
- 7.30pm Puerto Rico – Colombia
- 7.30pm Canada – Cuba