Havana, March 9 (RHC) – Colombia defeated Panama 4-3 today and ended its participation in the sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic with a victory.
In the final game between the two teams, the Colombians scored all four of their runs in the sixth inning, enough to defeat the Panamanians, who were unable to mount a comeback and were eliminated from the next round.
After the starting pitchers dominated the first half, the Colombians capitalized on the departure of right-hander Paolo Espino and combined walks issued by the Panamanian bullpen with three hits, including RBI singles by Reynaldo Rodríguez and Daniel Vellojin, to take the lead in the game.
From the mound at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, left-hander Adrian Almeida pitched four scoreless innings, striking out three batters for a quality start.
The Colombian management used a total of eight pitchers, and the win went to the first reliever, Austin Bergner, who pitched a hitless fifth inning, issuing one walk and striking out one batter.
Panama had seven hits to their opponents’ four, scoring one run in the sixth on a home run by José Caballero and adding two more in the eighth; however, right-hander Pedro García recorded the final four outs to secure the victory for Colombia.
Both teams finished their participation in Group A with a record of one win and three losses, and now have a better chance of advancing than Puerto Rico (2-0), Cuba (2-0), and Canada (1-1).
