Dominican Republic RBI wins softball championship at the 2012 Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series

Dominican Republic RBI claimed the softball championship at the 20th annual Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series. This was the second consecutive year that a team from Santo Domingo, DR has reached the softball championship game. Dominican Republic RBI previously won the softball championship title in 2008.

Dominican Republic RBI defeated Harrisburg RBI 7-6 in Minneapolis, MN at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium at the University of Minnesota. Dominican Republic RBI went undefeated with nine wins in the tournament. The softball championship will air on MLB Network and MLB.com, the official web site of Major League Baseball, at 12:00 p.m. EST on Friday, August 17.

As the winner of the softball title, Dominican Republic RBI was awarded the Dolly Vardens Trophy, named for an all African-American women’s baseball team formed in Philadelphia in 1867. Dominican Republic RBI’s designated hitter Bismedy Perozo, 18, was named the championship game Most Valuable Player. Her MVP performance included a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Dominican Republic RBI a 7-6 lead.

The baseball portion of the RBI World Series was played August 2 to August 5 with Jackie Robinson RBI of Jersey City, NJ and Dominican Republic RBI winning the championships for the Senior Division and Junior Division, respectively. The championship games were played at Target Field on Sunday, August 5.

The RBI World Series is the international baseball and softball championship tournament of the RBI program, and this year features young men and women (ages 13-18) from across the country, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. The RBI program is an MLB youth initiative designed to give young people from underserved and diverse areas the opportunity to play baseball and softball, encourage academic success and teach the value of teamwork. In 2012, the RBI program provided opportunities to more than 200,000 young people in 340 leagues worldwide. For more information, please visit: MLB.com/RBI.