The team that will represent Cuba in the Little League Baseball World Series was introduced yesterday afternoon at the Latin American Stadium. The tournament will take place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, from August 16 to 27.
The Bayamo team won the III Little League Baseball National Championship in March and, with it, punched its ticket to the World Series. Vladimir Vargas’ team beat their rivals from East Havana 6-2 in extra-inning in the final played at the Manuel Alarcón Reyna baseball club, of the Jesús Menéndez sports team, in Bayamo, Granma.
Shortstop and pitcher Edgar Torres was elected the Most Valuable Player of that final. Torres was the winner of the contest on the mound, tossing various innings in relief, and also swatted a triple that knocked in the go-ahead run in Bayamo’s victory, in the seventh inning of the third game and decisive game against East Havana.
“Our objective is to go to the tournament and progress through the different phases. Our greatest strength is our pitching, we also have strong offense and our defense is also impregnable”, Vladimir Vargas commented to national media.
Esta tarde, a las tres, el Estadio Latinoamericano acogerá el abanderamiento de la selección de #Bayamo, que será #Cuba en la Serie Mundial de las Pequeñas Ligas de #Beisbol, a disputarse en Williamsport, Pensilvania, Estados Unidos. #BeisbolCubano pic.twitter.com/Z7K0xsRYOz
— Federación Cubana de Béisbol (@CubanaBeisbol) August 9, 2023
The Cuban squad will be against Japan and the winner will face Tijuana (Mexico). “We have already studied Japan, we have studied the film, how they play and, based on that, we have made some adjustments. We plan to put on a good show and even win.”, declared Vargas.
The Little League World Series, which has been in existence since 1947 in the city of Williamsport, is the top baseball tournament for children ages 8 to 12, and will be played by eight teams from the United States and the same number of squads from the rest of the world.
The team that will represent Cuba in the upcoming Little League World Series (Bayamo):
Samuel Alexi Palencia Moreno, Luis Alejandro Aparicio Rondón, Roberto Alejandro Martínez Cedeño, Jonathan Yunel López Estrada, Edgar Yonathan Torres Caballero, Fabián Montero Fonseca, Keybel Alejandro Escalona Herrería, Luis Enrique Gurriel Silveira, Ismael de Jesús Ortega Massip, Didier Castillo Martí, Liusbán Sánchez Rodríguez, Heikel David Reyes Contreras, Alfredo Despaigne Rivero , Jeison Arturo Pérez Durruthy.