The Cocodrilos de Matanzas have won their second championship in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, claiming the title in the island nation’s top league with a sweep of the Lenadores de Las Tunas in the best-of-seven championship series.
With the win, the Cocodrilos have earned a berth in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s 2026 Baseball Champions League, which will be held at Mexico City’s Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu March 24-30.
In the fourth game of the series, which was played at Havana’s Estadio Latinoamericano, the Cocodrilos scored seven runs in the first inning, ripping off eight consecutive hits to open the game on their way to an 11-0, seven-inning win to sweep the series. According to JIT Deportivo, a Cuban sports media outlet, the eight consecutive hits to open the game are a postseason record in the Serie Nacional.
Catcher Andrys Pérez went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored for Matanzas, and center fielder Eduardo Blanco took home the series MVP award.
Matanzas outscored Las Tunas 33-11 over the four games of the series, winning Game 1 8-3, Game 2 7-3, and Game 3 7-5. All four games were played at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana, the island’s largest ballpark, as well as the largest ballpark in Latin America.
Armando Ferrer’s club will now prepare for the Baseball Champions League, where they will face the American Association’s Kane County Cougars, the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol’s Diablos Rojos del Mexico, Nicaragua’s Dantos de Managua, the CTBC Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, and a team representing Venezuela’s Liga Mayor de Beisbol Profesional.
Photo: Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City will host the 2026 Baseball Champions League. (Photo by Leif Skodnick/World Baseball Network)
