Dantos de Managua (1-0) 17, CTBC Brothers (0-1) 5 – The Dantos de Managua assured that Nicaragua would not go winless at the 2026 Baseball Champions League, topping Taiwan’s CTBC Brothers 17-5 behind five home runs, including two by Bismarck Rivera, in the tournament opener Tuesday afternoon.
A sacrifice fly by Su Wei Ta scored Lin Jui Chun to give the Brothers a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and they added another when Tsai Sheng Jie reached on an error that allowed Li Sheng Yu to score and make it 2-0.
With a lineup featuring five starters who played for Nicaragua at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, the Dantos scored five runs in the top of the second, getting a three-run homer from Rodolfo Bone and then a two-run single by Emanuel Trujillo that put the Dantos up 5-2.
The Dantos continued to take advantage of the light air in Mexico City, with Bismarck Rivera and Omar Mendoza each hitting two-run homer in the top of the third to make it 9-2 early. Mendoza went 3-for-3 with two walks, adding an RBI single in the fifth as he drove in four runs in the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, consecutive doubles by Li Sheng Yu and Hsu Shao yu got three runs home for the Brothers to make it a 10-5 game, but that was as close as they’d make it.
Managua added another run in the eighth and then six more in the ninth, with Bismarck Rivera hitting his second homer of the game, a two-run shot that made it 13-5. Mendoza drove in Bryan Ruiz with a sac fly to center, Trujillo singled in Brandon Leyton, and William Rayo launched a two-run homer to put the game away.
Dantos starter Angel Obando went 4 1/3 innings and allowed five runs, four of them earned, on six hits and two walks, striking out two, while relievers Elias Gutierrez, Stanling Orozco, and Carlos Teller combined to allow just one hit and one walk over the remaining 4 2/3 innings.
CTBC will face the Cocodrilos de Matanzas of Cuba’s Serie Nacional Wednesday at noon EDT, with You Jun You starting for the Brothers against Yoennis Yera for Matanzas.
Kane County Cougars (1-0) 14, Diablos Rojos del Mexico (0-1) 7 – The Kane County Cougars knocked off the Diablos Rojos in the nightcap, clubbing four homers and riding solid relief pitching to an opening win against the defending BCL champions.
Dillon Thomas went 3-for-5 and scored three times for Kane County, and Todd Lott, Max Murphy, Josh Allen, and Claudio Finol each homered in the win.
Former New York Yankee James Kaprelian got the start for Lorenzo Bundy’s Diablos, going 2 2/3 innings and allowing two runs on two hits and two walks, striking out two. Justin Courtney, who made 14 starts for the Diablos in 2025, allowed seven runs on five hits over 1 2/3, giving up back-to-back solo homers to Allen and Finol immediately upon entering the game to start the top of the fourth. In the fifth, Courtney hit Allen with a pitch while the bases were loaded, forcing Thomas home, walked Sam Dexter with the bases loaded, and then allowed a two-run single by Armond Upshaw before leaving the game with the Cougars up 9-4.
Murphy and Lott added solo homers in the top of the eighth.
Kane County is off on Wednesday, while the Diablos will face the Dantos de Managua (1-0) at 9 p.m. EDT in the nightcap at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, with Damian Mendoza starting for Mexico against Danilo Bermudez for Managua.
2026 Baseball Champions League Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
All games at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, Mexico City
March 24
Dantos de Managua 17, CTBC Brothers 5
Kane County Cougars 14, Diablos Rojos del Mexico 7
March 25
Noon – CTBC Brothers vs. Cocodrilos de Matanzas
9 p.m. – Diablos Rojos del Mexico vs. Dantos de Managua
March 26
Noon – CTBC Brothers vs. Kane County Cougars
9 p.m. – Cocodrilos de Matanzas vs. Dantos de Managua
March 27
Noon – Kane County Cougars vs. Cocodrilos de Matanzas
9 p.m. – Diablos Rojos del Mexico vs. CTBC Brothers
March 28
Noon – Dantos de Managua vs. Kane County Cougars
6 p.m. – Cocodrilos de Matanzas vs. Diablos Rojos del Mexico
March 29
4 p.m. – Championship Game
Photo: Dillon Thomas went 3-for-5 and scored three times for Kane County, and Todd Lott, Max Murphy, Josh Allen, and Claudio Finol each homered in the win. (Courtesy of the American Association)
