Las Tunas and Santa Maria advance to Baseball Champions League Americas semifinals
The Las Tunas Leñadores (Cuba's Serie Nacional) and the Santa Maria Parites (Curaçao Double-A League) won the elimination games with the Florida Titanes (Puerto Rico Double-A League) and the Chinandega Tigres (Nicaragua Pomares Championship)to advance to the Baseball Champions League Americas 2025 semifinals. Las Tunas will face the Kane County Cougars (American Association), and Santa Maria will play the hosts, Mexico City Diablos Rojos (Mexican Baseball League, LMB) on Saturday, April 12.
The Results
Pirates-Tigres 19-11
Leñadores-Titanes 11-6
Pirates-Tigres
The two teams combined 34 hits and the Curaçao Double-A League champions slugged their way to the semifinals with 22, including two home runs.
Santa Maria wasted no time against Chinandega starter Dilmer Mejia, scoring four runs on four hits and an error in their first at-bat.
It was not a pitcher's afternoon at the Alfredo Harp Helù Stadium. Chinandega needed seven to go through the game. Santa Maria's starter Alvaro Sejias earned the win, allowing six runs on four hits and four walks in five innings of work. The Pirates needed five relievers to go through the remaining four innings.
The Pirates took an 8-4 lead into the sixth, then broke the score open with a six-run rally, capped by Juremi Profar's three-run home run.
Jiandido Tromp and Kevin Moesquit had a four-hit game. Jonathan Martijn added a home run.
Leñadores-Titanes
Cuba's Serie Nacional champions scored all their runs in the first half of the game. A four-run third and a five-run fourth put Las Tuna on the course to an 11-6 win.
Florida took an early lead against international baseball veteran Yoennis Yera, thriving on an error and scoring the second run on a force-out.
The first Cuban hit off starter Jean Perez was Yoelkis Guibert's two-out solo homer in the bottom of the first. Las Tunas tied the game on three hits in the bottom of the second and took the lead with a four-run third on four consecutive hits.
The Leñadores got to reliever Keven Ramos with four hits, including doubles by Roel Santos and Yosvany Alarcon. Caballero couldn't stop the bleeding, and Las Tunas broke the score open with five runs. Despite two defensive errors, they won't need to look back.
Yera earned the win, allowing four runs on six hits in five innings. Yankiel Mauris and Alberto Civil took care of the other 12 outs, limiting the Titanes to a pair of hits.
The Semifinals
14:00 Leñadores (starting pitcher Yadian Martinez)-Cougars (Landen Bourassa)
19:30 Pirates (Scott Prins)-Diablos Rojos (Zach Grotz)
All times are local