Guillermo Yaber Llanos / @guilloyaber
The Venezuela U12 Baseball Team defeated the Dominican Republic 12-5 to put their record in the Super Round at 3-1, thus placing themselves half a step away from the final.
A victory for the United States against Chinese Taipei would guarantee a duel between North and South America for the championship of the category.
Also read: U12 Baseball World Cup: Venezuela starts the Super Round with victory
Venezuela and the Dominican Republic met in a duel of streaks in the first half of the duel, with clusters of five runs for the criollos in the first and third innings, while an inning of five for the islanders, also in the third.
🇻🇪 Venezuela José Ramos hit a double and drove in 2 runs! @TeamBeisbolVe @FedobeRD #U12WorldCup #tainan pic.twitter.com/xMPZg9Bklh
— WBSC #U12WorldCup âš¾ (@WBSC) August 5, 2022
Venezuela relied on a solo home run by Juan Pérez and another three-run by Alex Rodríguez to make it 10-0 after two and a half innings.
🇻🇪 Juan Perez hit a solo homerun to make it 6-0! @TeamBeisbolVe @FedobeRD #U12WorldCup #tainan pic.twitter.com/CpQNkLDVwh
— WBSC #U12WorldCup âš¾ (@WBSC) August 5, 2022
The Dominican Republic responded with five to cut the lead down the middle in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of mistakes made by the Creole defense and Miguel Grullon’s home run.
Left-hander Ángel Betancourt pitched three innings in which he allowed three hits, gave up one walk and struck out four, receiving five unearned runs.
🇻🇪 Alex Rodriguez hit a 3-run homerun to make it 10-0! @TeamBeisbolVe @FedobeRD #U12WorldCup #tainan pic.twitter.com/xJcs79GZ8E
— WBSC #U12WorldCup âš¾ (@WBSC) August 5, 2022
In the second part of the game, the Creole pitching dominated and the offense managed two more to round out the score. Sebastian Figueroa relieved the left-hander to throw the last three scoreless innings and take the victory.
Alex Rodríguez went 1-for-4 with a home run, runs scored and three RBIs. Juan Pérez also hit a home run to go 1-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
🇩🇴 Miguel Grullon hit a Grand Slam Homerun! Venezuela 10-5! @TeamBeisbolVe @FedobeRD #U12WorldCup #tainan pic.twitter.com/AlamKjsZAi
— WBSC #U12WorldCup âš¾ (@WBSC) August 5, 2022
Salomón Millán went 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. David Vabalas 4-2 with two runs scored.
The 12-5 victory gives Venezuela a chance to secure the silver medal if the United States beats Chinese Taipei, also guaranteeing a duel for the gold medal on Sunday.