Mexico moved one step closer to the 2017 World Baseball Classic on Friday night, defeating Nicaragua to remain unbeaten and advance to Sunday's final in the Mexicali, Mexico, qualifier.
Now it's up to Saturday's contest between Nicaragua and the Czech Republic to determine which team will face Mexico for a place in the fourth installment of the World Baseball Classic.
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Saturday's must-win showdown is set for 9 p.m. ET at Estadio B-Air. All qualifier games will be streamed on MLB.com and worldbaseballclassic.com.
Mexico reached the final by way of an 11-0 mercy-rule victory. Dodgers star Adrian Gonzalez went 0-for-2, but he had an RBI, walked twice and scored twice. Mexico starting pitcher Stephen Landazuri limited Nicaragua to one hit over four frames, and the bullpen picked up where he left off.
The pool's fourth team, Germany, was eliminated by the Czech Republic, which rallied for a 15-3 win on Friday.
Germany took an early 1-0 lead, but saw it evaporate as the Czech Republic plated four runs in the third inning. Catcher Martin Cervenka -- an Indians prospect and the Czechs' only player in an MLB organization -- led his team with a grand slam and six RBIs in the eight-inning, mercy-rule win.