DR, Venezuela advance in WBSC Qualifier
The WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier continued Wednesday in Florida, with Venezuela and the Dominican Republic moving on to the Super Round of the tournament, which will take place on Saturday. The Super Round is “the final four” of the tournament, and in addition to the abovementioned squads, the United States and Canada round out the field.
The tournament opened Monday with the eight best national teams from the Americas pursuing one of two open slots in the six-team Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games field. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Olympics last year, and they will take place from July 21-Aug. 8. The four teams that have already qualified for the first Olympic baseball action in 13 years are Japan, Israel, Mexico and South Korea.
The winner of Saturday’s Super Round will secure a spot in the Olympic field, while the runner-up and third-place team will advance to the WBSC Final Qualifier in June. That five-team tournament will take place in Mexico and the winner will claim the sixth and final Olympic spot.
Here are the results from Day 3 of the Americas Qualifier:
No. 10 Dominican Republic 13, No. 15 Nicaragua 3 (8 innings)
The D.R. routed Nicaragua in an eight-inning mercy rule victory at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to claim the final spot in Saturday’s Super Round. Mariners prospect Julio Rodríguez, ranked the No. 5 prospect in the game by MLB Pipeline, launched a pair of home runs, two of five homers overall for the D.R. The others were a three-run shot by fellow Mariners prospect Luis Liberato and solo shots by Yefri Pérez and Juan Francisco.
No. 8 Venezuela 5, No. 13 Canada 0
Venezuela preserved its perfect record in the tournament thanks in large part to Carlos Pérez, a catcher who played for the Angels, Braves and Rangers from 2015-18. Pérez remained hot at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla., including a home run and two RBIs. Shortstop Juniel Querecuto also added a solo homer in the victory. Meanwhile, Red Sox prospects Enmanuel De Jesus (four innings) and Oddanier Mosqueda (two), as well as Brewers prospect Harold Chirinos (two) and Henry Centeno (one) combined for a one-hit shutout of Canada.
No. 7 Cuba 16, No. 14 Colombia 3 (7 innings)
Shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena and left fielder Raico Santos went a combined 7-for-10, each homering and driving in four runs in Cuba’s seven-inning mercy rule win over Colombia at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Bryan Anthony Chi Montoya started and tossed five solid frames, yielding one run on four hits while walking one and striking out three. Jeter Downs, the Red Sox No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline and No. 38 overall, went 1-for-3 with a solo homer for Colombia.
No. 2 United States vs. No. 11 Puerto Rico was rescheduled because of rain to Thursday at 11 a.m. ET at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla.