The little Santa Clara Leopards won a doubleheader this Saturday during their visit to the René Díaz stadium in Sancti Spíritus and proclaimed themselves champions of the Cuban Little League tournament.
For Santa Clara it is their second title in the last four editions of this tournament that have been held, the other two have fallen into the hands of Bayamo, who last year were the representatives of Cuba in Williamsports, Pennsylvania, but this year they succumbed in the semifinals against a brave team from Sancti Spiritus.
The boys led by Everaldo Pedroso once again demonstrated excellent defense, combined with good fielding and outstanding pitching. The leopards managed to get a direct ticket to the prestigious Williamsports tournament that will be held next August.
Cuba
Santa Clara conquistó el título de las Pequeñas Ligas de #beisbol. Derrotó en en dos juegos a Sancti Spíritus.#Cuba #baseball #DeporteCubano
📷 @calixtollanes pic.twitter.com/4rGru4saIs— JIT Deporte Cubano (@jit_digital) March 2, 2024
Before a packed stadium, with congas blaring on both sides, the first game ended with a score of 7-2 for the leoparditos. Right-hander Yan Espinosa pitched for five full innings to secure victory in a contest where Villa Clara banged out 15 hits.
In the second game, Delvis Hernández silenced the Sancti Spiritus bats during his six innings of work,leaving them scoreless and striking out a total of six. The little leopards scored two in the same first inning, added another in the second and fifth to blank Sancti Spiritus 4-0.
In 2022, when the little ones from Santa Clara won their title, they had to attend a qualifying tournament in which they failed to qualify for the World Series. This year, like the previous one, the Cuban champion is assured of his presence directly at the LLWS, without needing to attend this area’s qualifier.