The Cuban Under-18 baseball team defeated Mexico 5-4 in nine innings this Friday during the second day of the initial round of the XVI Pan American Under-18 Baseball Championship, held at the IPL Academy complex in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic.
The game, which required the WBSC tiebreak rule in the ninth inning to determine the winner, marked Cuba's first victory in the tournament after losing 5-4 to Venezuela on the opening day Wednesday, when the Cubans entered the seventh inning with a 4-2 lead but were unable to hold on to it.
Mexico arrived at the match already bearing a defeat after Nicaragua defeated them 9-4 in the opening of Group B, marking their second consecutive loss and leaving them with a record of 0-2 in the group.
The game had constant changes. The Mexicans opened the scoring in the first inning, Cuba tied it up in the third, and both teams reached the eighth inning with the score tied. The Cubans scored two runs in that inning, but Mexico immediately responded with the same number to tie it 4-4 and force a ninth inning.
The decisive play came in the top of the ninth inning, with runners on base due to the tiebreaker rule. Dairon Orlando Espinosa Aguilar hit a single to center field that drove in the run for Cuba's decisive lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Mexico could not respond: Brandon Alexis Herrera González hit into a double play and Héctor Hernán Luque Valle flew out for the third out, sealing the Cuban victory.
The victory was credited to the reliever Luis Daniel Rodríguez Cruz, who pitched two complete innings, while the loss fell to Pedro Gabriel Salas Muñiz.
Among the most productive for Cuba were Anthony Iván Navarro Benites, who went 4 for 2 with one run scored, one RBI, one double, and one walk, and Samuel Matos Espinosa, who hit 4 for 1 with one double and two RBIs.
For Mexico, Alex Gildardo Tolosa Mendoza contributed a solo home run and two runs batted in, while Luis Gustavo Guajardo Ochoa went 2 for 4 with a double as the leadoff hitter.
Cuban youth baseball arrives at this tournament within a context of severe organizational crisis: in May 2026, the National Baseball Commission suspended the national championships for Sub-12, Sub-15, and Sub-18 due to the energy crisis and the lack of fuel for interprovincial transportation, replacing them with provincial physical and technical tests.
The tournament, which brings together 11 teams divided into three groups, awards four spots for the 2027 U-18 Baseball World Cup to be held in Pingtan, China.
The top two teams from each group advance to the Super Round, scheduled from October 25 to 28, so Cuba needs to keep accumulating wins to secure its qualification.
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