Baseball: USA wins its seventh world title in the “Cadets” category in a hard-fought final with Cuba

The USA defeated Cuba 4-3 in the final of the U-15 Baseball World Cup played at the Estadio de Sonora, Mexico.

For the Americans it was their seventh title in this age group, adding the awards they won when the tournament called for those under-16 years of age.

The contest had been postponed at the end of 2020 due to the pandemic, forcing the World Baseball/Softball Confederation (WBSC) to suspend its international calendar for two years.

Cuban fans back home celebrated second place due to the drought of good international results of their main national team in a sport considered the “national pastime.” Since 2016, a Cuban team of any category has not appeared in a final of a relevant international championship.

In Tokyo 2020, Cuba was absent for the first time from an Olympic tournament when they failed to qualify (Cuba did not play in the demonstration tournaments of Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 due to joining the Soviet boycott firts and North Korean later) .

Japan seemed destined to play the final after beating Cuba 3-0. But the Cuban coaches at the end of the game realized Japan’s starting pitcher Ryusa Tsuji, who worked the entire game, started against the last Cuban batter with 96 pitches made, one more than prescribed.

At the end of the game the Cubans protested and their claim was successful. For the official records of the tournament, Cuba won 7-0, and secured its presence in the final against the USA.

The Japanese were sent to the bronze medal game with Taiwan, but the match had to be canceled due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the ranks of the “samurai” that prevented Japan from fielding the minimum number of players required.

Taiwan was declared the winner of the game and earned their second consecutive bronze medal at these tournaments.

The U-15 World Cup All-Star Team was as follows: Catcher: Yaider Ruiz (CUB), First Base: Kanta Kanemoto (JPN), Second Base: Tien-Szu Huang (TPE), Third Base: Alejandro Cruz (CUB) Shortstop : Ethan Holliday (USA),Outfielders: Isaac Carrasquillo (PUR) Coy James (USA) Juan Caballero (PAN) Best Starting Pitcher: Yao-Yun Chang (TPE) Best Relief Pitcher: Daniel Reyes (CUB) Designated Hitter: Andrew Costello (USA) Most Valuable Player: Coy James (USA)

James hit .478 with two home runs, eight RBI and 11 runs scored.