WBSC U-12 World Cup 2025 | Cuba virtually secures seventh place with an 8-0 win over the Czech Republic
- BaseballdeCuba
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The Cuban U-12 national team secured their fourth win at the U-12 World Cup in Tainan, Taiwan, by defeating the Czech team 8-0 this Friday.
This victory marked the fourth for the Cubans in the tournament, moving them closer to securing seventh place in the ongoing World Cup. This would represent their lowest position since 2011, when these tournaments started being documented by the now-defunct International Amateur Baseball Federation (IBAF).
In their second game in a row, Cuba's pitching excelled, with right-hander Denis A. Zamora (1-1) securing his first tournament victory. He pitched six strong innings, striking out seven and conceding just two hits.
Zamora also shone with his bat, achieving two hits in four at-bats, which included a double, three runs scored, and one RBI.
In the matchup, Cuba's third batter, Sean M. García, excelled once more by hitting his third home run of the tournament, which tied him with American Kristian Valadez for the lead.
García precisely gave Cuba the lead in the first inning with a two-run homer against left-hander Jan Červenka (0-2). Those runs alone would have sufficed to ensure the win.
During the third inning, Cuba extended its lead as Zamora started the inning with a double to left field, stole third base, and then scored thanks to a sacrifice fly by Maykol Lluch. This marked Lluch's seventh RBI of the tournament, placing him just behind García, who has eight RBIs.
In the following inning, Cuba intensified its offensive, aided by two walks, a hit by pitch, and two defensive errors by the Czech team. With one out, Červenka walked Marcos Vera, who then stole second base and moved to third on a balk. A walk to Alex Gómez put runners on the corners, and a double steal allowed Vera to score from third. Moments later, a grounder by Jordan Oseguera resulted in a fielding error by the Czech shortstop, advancing Gómez to third. Another error by the shortstop, this time on a throw to first on a grounder by Zamora, let both runners score. Červenka hit Lluch, loading the bases again, marking the last batter the left-hander faced in the game.
Reliever Teodor Svoboda faced Sean García, who hit a single to left field, enabling Zamora to score Cuba's fourth run of the inning, bringing the score to 7-0. Červenka, the starter, finished his outing after pitching 3 1/3 innings, during which he gave up seven runs—four of them earned—along with five hits, three walks, and three strikeouts, resulting in his second loss of the tournament.
During the fifth inning, Cuba managed two hits and capitalized on shortstop Jiří Dostál's third error to score their final run.
Following their victory, the Cubans hold a 4-0 record in the group that will decide the standings from seventh to twelfth place. Their final game is scheduled for this Saturday against South Africa, beginning at 2:30 p.m. local time and 10:30 p.m. in Cuban and Eastern Time.
In the same group, the matches between Germany and Panama, as well as South Africa and Australia, were halted because of rain.
During the Super Round, which decides the teams progressing to the medal match, Japan triumphed over the Dominican Republic 10-6. The United States secured a crucial 6-5 walk-off win against host Taiwan, and South Korea also got an import win with a 9-1 victory over Mexico.
The top two teams from the Super Round will advance to the world title on August 3, while the third and fourth-place teams will compete for the bronze medal that same day.
The United States holds the current title as two-time world champion in this category, but Japan is aiming to unseat them and secure the only world title missing from international baseball competitions. Both teams, along with South Korea, have a 3-1 record in the Super Round. The matchup this Saturday between the United States and Japan will clearly decide which team advances to the final. On the same day, South Korea will compete against Taiwan.
