The Las Tunas Lumberjacks won "the good game," as they say in sports slang, and will be in the semifinals of the 2025 Baseball Americas Champions League.
Mexico City.- The green-and-red squad relied on the support of Yoennis Yera -starter and winner- and once again showed off their batting strength, winning 11-6 against the Florida Titans (Puerto Rico). Thus, they earned a chance at a rematch against the Kane County Cougars this Saturday at 4:00 pm (Cuban time).
Shortly before kickoff, the coaching staff had to change to the starting lineup due to the sudden illness of catcher and eighth hitter Andrys Pérez. Rafael Viñales relinquished first base to Yosvany Alarcón to take Andrys's spot behind the plate. Yordany Alarcón took the designated hitter turn from his brother Yosvany, leaving Roberto Baldoquín to play third base. Luis Vicente Mateo moved to second base, and Tailon Sánchez came in to play shortstop.
The Las Tunas -Cuban! - axes collected 17 hits, although runs were only scored between the first and fourth innings. Yoelkis Guibert continued to show his power at bat with his fourth home run of the tournament. Rounding out the list of standout hitters were Yosvany Alarcón, 4-for-5, with a double and two RBIs; Tailon Sánchez, 3-for-5 with three hits; and Roberto Baldoquín, two hits in three official at-bats and a couple RBIs.
The defense again showed weakness in plays that shouldn't be missed at this level. They made three errors, allowing half of the opponent's runs (3).
The pitching, on the other hand, showed its best side in this Champions League. Starter Yera and relievers Yankiel Mauris and Pablo Alberto Civil sent 14 batters to the dugout via strikes and issued no walks.
Under the competition system, the Greater Antilles team will face the North American Kane County Cougars again, but a place in the final will be at stake.
In the afternoon match of this direct elimination in the baseball Champions League, the Santa Maria Pirates -who entered this stage with two losses- won the game they couldn't fail against the Nicaraguan Chinandega Tigers. The Curaçao team will play the other semifinal match against the host Diablos Rojos (Mexico), an undefeated squad and favorite to lift the champions trophy.
