Yilian Tornes leads Granma to national softball championship in Cuba
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Left-handed pitcher Yilian Tornes led Granma to their 17<sup>th</sup> women’s softball national championship in Cuba, with a pair of wins over Santiago de Cuba, 6-0 and 4-1, in the decisive games of the page system playoff. Granma repeated as Cuba’s national champions.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Tornes was Granma’s leading force throughout the season. She struck out 32 opponents in the last two games of the competition, pitching a 17-strikeout shutout in the semifinal, and delivering 15 in the decisive match. During the regular season, she collected six wins, including a perfect game. She led the tournament with 82 strikeouts.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:ve30/twitter-iframe {"url":"https://twitter.com/jit_digital/status/1629685715150700545"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-ve30-twitter-iframe twitter-tweet" allowtransparency="0" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" width="auto"><a href="https://twitter.com/jit_digital/status/1629685715150700545"></a></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:ve30/twitter-iframe -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Guantanamo completed the podium, behind a good season from veteran Marlen Bubaire, who led the season in wins (seven) and ERA (0.34).</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The leading hitter of the regular season was Rosangela Jardines (.472); while Yilian Rondon led the tournament in RBIs with 14, and Daniela Barbosa was the homerun queen with five.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>All players from the Cuban National Softball Team, apart from Anisley Lopez, participated in the event. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Ranked 27<sup>th</sup> in the world, Cuba will face a busy season in 2023. They will play in <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Group B of the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2023-xvii-womens-softball-world-cup-group-b/home" target="_blank">Group B of the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup</a></span></strong> in Valencia, Spain; and will also participate in the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 and the Central and Caribbean Games in El Salvador.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->