Cuba wins, is one step closer to U-23 Baseball World Cup super round

After beating the Czech Republic, 7-1, Cuba will face the Dominican Republic in the make-up game of the rained-out opener. Cuba moved one step closer to a Super Round berth with a 7-1 victory over the Czech Republic on Monday afternoon in Ciudad Obregon. Bo x score Cuba’s starter Jose Santos was the star, tossing a complete-game two-hitter to help his team improve to 3-1 in group play. Santos did not allow a hit until the bottom of the sixth when Marek Chlup tripled to right field. Chlup scored one batter later on a Radim Novotny sacrifice fly to account for the lone Czech run of the day. "Santos helped us a lot going the distance," commented Cuba's manager Eriel Sanchez . "Overall, we've had very good pitching. Thanks to that, we could win close games." Cuba’s offense simply took what it was given by a Czech staff that walked a total of nine batters on the day. Cuba’s first three runs came across in the third inning - the first two on wild pitches and the third on a Yandi Yanes RBI single. The team added two more in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and a Geisel Cepeda RBI double and capped the day with a pair of runs on two hits in the seventh. Rangel Ramos was the only player to record a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for Cuba out of the eight spot. The Czech Republic finishes group play 1-4, losers of four straight after the thrilling opening night victory over Mexico. Cuba heads into a Tuesday make-up game with the Dominican Republic that is certain to have Super Round implications. "We need to make that one more step to get to the super round," concluded Sanchez . "We know the Dominican Republic is a very strong team. I have a lot of respect for them. For sure, it will be fun to watch us play tomorrow." That game is scheduled to start at 10:30am local time. (Photo: WBSC)