Diablos Rojos and Cougars win on BCL Americas Day 1
The Kane County Cougars (American Association) and the Mexico City Diablos Rojos (Mexican Baseball League-LMB) celebrated wins at the end of the first day of the Baseball Champions League Americas 2025 at the Alfredo Harp Helù Stadium in Mexico City. The Cougars overcame the Santa Maria Pirates (Curaçao Double-A League) while the Diablos Rojos outscored the Florida Titanes (Puerto Rico Double-A League).
Diablos Rojos-Titanes 15-2
The defending LMB champions Diablos Rojos used 19 hits, including home runs by Luis Liberato, Moises Gutierrez and Juan Carlos Gamboa to defeat Puerto Rico's Florida Titanes in front of over 7,000 fans.
The Florida starter, left-hander Joshua Santiago, didn't go beyond the second inning and allowed five runs on four hits. His first reliever, Amaury Caban, could get only two outs and allowed four more runs. With the Diablos Rojos leading 9-0, the game was history after three innings.
Six Diablos Rojos hitters had a multi-hit game. Designated hitter, former Major League Baseball (MLB) star and World Baseball Classic 2013 winner, Robinson Cano went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Catcher Francisco Mejia went 4-for-5 and scored four runs.
WBSC Premier12 bronze medallist Zach Grotz left after the third. He allowed only one hit and struck out four. The Diablos Rojos used four more pitchers and Josè Bravo earned the win pitching the sixth and the seventh.
Cougars-Pirates 16-14
A five-run top of the ninth gave the American Association defending champions Kane County Cougars their first win in the BCL Americas 2025. The Santa Maria Pirates took a 13-8 lead into the eighth but couldn't hold on to it.
The BCL Americas' inaugural game resulted in a slugfest. The two teams combined 31 hits, including five home runs. The Cougars outhit the Pirates 18-13. Third baseman Dayson Croes had six hits, including a home run, and four RBIs. Two defensive errors plagued Santa Maria.
The Cougars and Pirates sent 14 pitchers to the mound. Tyler Beardsley pitched the eighth and the ninth and earned the win, allowing one run on a solo homer by Santa Maria leadoff hitter Jandido Tromp.
The Pirates broke the score open with a nine-run bottom of the fifth. Trailing by five runs, the Cougars cut the gap to two against Sedley Karel in the eighth. Edgar Garcia took the mound to get out of the jam, but couldn't survive the ninth. Nick Dalesandro hit a two-RBI double and scored on a defensive error. Brantley Bell followed with an RBI single. Before reliever Cedeon Langguth could get the final out, another error granted the Cougars an insurance run.
BCL Americas Day 2
14:00 Santa Maria Pirates-Las Tunas Lenadores (Cuba Serie Nacional)
19:30 Chinandega Tigers (Nicaragua Pomares Championship-Florida Titanes