The Lumberjacks of Las Tunas put their success box into operation this Saturday in the I Series of the Americas of baseballby defeating the Metropolitan Águilas of Panama with a score of 5-4, in a duel held at the Roberto Clemente stadium in the city of Masaya, Nicaragua.
The cast that represents Cuba in the tournament, surpassed in its debut by the host teamthus closed the day with a victory and a setback, a similar balance as the canaleros, report the Prensa Latina (PL) agency.
Victory of the Lumberjacks in Series #Baseball of the Americas
They defeated Águilas Metropolitanas, from Panama. This Sunday they will face Curacao Goats. #Cuba #CubanSport #baseballhttps://t.co/ZRWafUcaAF pic.twitter.com/fTQEbT8jVF— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) January 26, 2025
The Eagles, who had deployed a ferocious offensive in their debut against Club DAOM of Argentina (19-1), took the lead in the opening inning against right-hander Raymond Figueredo, thanks to an error by catcher Rafael Viñales.
At the end of the same inning, Santiago reinforcement Yoelkis Guibert balanced the score with home runs without men on base, and a chapter later first baseman Guillermo Avilés repeated the dose against Harold Araúz, Cuba’s three-time executioner from the mound.
The Panamanian pitcher left for the showers after enduring three more hits, one of them coming from the bat of Yunieski Larduet, who pushed two teammates, the publication adds.
Figueredo could not stay on the mound to finish the first third of the match, when the Panamanians were one run away from tying, but his teammates responded in a row with another run driven in by Avilés – 3 for 4 on the night – with a hit of two bases.
Baseball: Las Tunas Lumberjacks know their rivals in the American Champions League
With an effective three-inning save, Andy Vargas scored the victory, which was endangered when his replacement Geonel Gutiérrez scored the run in the seventh inning that once again narrowed the lead to a minimum.
To the relief of the Las Tunas high command, Alberto Pablo Civil managed to contain the rebellion, retiring seven batters in a row, two of them by strikeout.
This Sunday the Cuban team will go out looking for its second victory in the competition, when they face the representative of Curacao in Managua, undefeated in two outings after beating the host team 3-0 on Saturday.
Hours before, they had defeated the Colombian team Caimanes de Barranquilla 5-4, in a match that had been postponed due to their late arrival at the event venue.
