The preliminary round at the Pan Am/Baseball World Cup Qualifier in Puerto Rico ended with a pair of make-up games on Thursday. The Dominican Republic defeated Aruba 11-6 to improve to 3-2, advancing into the second round. Six runs combined in the seventh and eighth decided the outcome. Jose Constanza drove in three for the Dominicans. Aruba’s Joseph Maduro went 3-for-5 with four RBI.
In group B Cuba concluded the first round with an 11-4 clubbing of the Netherlands Antilles. Five runs in the eighth blew things wide open. Alfredo Despaigne and Alexei Bell went deep and combined for five RBI. Yulexis la Rosa however had the best day at the plate, going 5-for-6 with four RBI. It was the fifth loss in the fifth game for the Antilleans in Puerto Rico this week.
The second round will be played in another round-robin format with the first four games being played tonight.
Results Day 7:
Thursday, October 7:
Group A:
Aruba – Dominican Republic 6-11
Group B:
Cuba – Netherlands Antilles 11-4
Complete results, box scores, schedule on BaseballdeCuba.com
Final Standings First Round:
Group A:
- USA 5-0
- Dominican Republic 3-2
- Puerto Rico 3-2
- Panama 3-2
- Colombia 1-4
- Aruba 0-5
Group B:
- Cuba 5-0
- Venezuela 4-1
- Canada 3-2
- Nicaragua 2-3
- Argentina 1-4
- Netherlands Antilles 0-5
Standings Round 2:
Group A:
- USA 3-0
- Dominican Republic 1-2
- Puerto Rico 1-2
- Panama 1-2
Group B:
- Cuba 3-0
- Venezuela 2-1
- Canada 1-2
- Nicaragua 0-3
Schedule Round 2, Day 1:
Friday, October 8:
- 2pm Dominican Republic – Canada
- 2pm Cuba – Panama
- 7.30pm Venezuela – Puerto Rico
- 7.30pm USA – Nicaragua