Colombia and Venezuela are now the only undefeated teams in Group B of the tournament
In a duel between undefeated teams in Group B of the pre-world tournament, which runs until September 30 in Masaya and Managua, Nicaragua, Colombia defeated Cuba 7-4.
Against the island's bullpen, the Colombians came back in the fifth inning. The Cuban relievers couldn't maintain the 3-2 advantage they had acquired by the middle of the game.
Cuba scored early, with three runs in the first inning, but Colombia scored two in the second inning and didn't score more until the fifth. In that inning, the Cuban starter, José I. Grandales, was pulled from the game after leaving two runners on with no outs.
But relievers Rafael Perdomo, Alex Guerra, and Orisbel Borges allowed RBI singles, to allow Colombia to take the first lead of the game.
After 4 innings of work in which he struck out four and walked two, the Cuban starter was charged with four earned runs.
Andrew Salcedo's two-run homer in the sixth inning gave Colombia a 7-3 lead, with the Cubans loading the bases in the seventh inning, but only scoring one run.
Colombia's manager, Neder Horta, praised his players for their behavior on the field and acknowledged the team's excellent baseball.
"It was important for us to stop Cuba, which is a great rival, and then make the necessary run to get the win", explained the manager.
The Colombians continued their undefeated streak thanks to reliever Nicolás Maldonado (2.1 IP, 1H, 3K, 3BB) who collected the win. The Cuban starter took the loss.
Now, Cuba faces another tough test when it faces Venezuela on Tuesday, a team that with a victory could secure its ticket to the 2024 World Cup.
The results of Monday's day show Venezuela and Colombia to be the leading teams in Group B with a 3-0 record, followed by Cuba (2-1), Panama (1-2) and Curaçao and Costa Rica (both 0 -3
In the other bracket, Nicaragua leads (3-0), followed by Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico (all with 1-1), and Argentina (3-0).
