Kane County Cougars 19, Lenadores de Las Tunas 15 – Another day, another football score in a baseball game played at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in the Baseball Champions League Americas (BCL Americas).
After scoring eight runs in the bottom of the second, the Cougars had a commanding 11-3 lead after five innings. But the Lenadores scored eight runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 11, getting four RBI doubles in the frame.
Kane County grabbed a three-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, getting an RBI single from Dayson Croes and an RBI double by Shed Long Jr., but Las Tunas answered again in the top of the seventh, tying the game at 14 with a two-run double by Luis Mateo and an RBI single by Yoelkis Guibert.
The Cougars finally put the game out of reach in the bottom of the seventh, getting a two-run double from Shed Long Jr., an RBI triple from Max Murphy, an RBI double from Dillon Thomas, and an RBI single from Todd Lott to take a 19-14 lead.
Roel Santos led off the top of the ninth for Las Tunas with a solo homer, the only homer for the Serie Nacional champions in the game.
In all, the two teams combined for 42 hits in the game, with designated hitter Yosvani Alarcon of Las Tunas going 3-for-5 and collecting five RBIs. Shed Long Jr., Dayson Croes, and Brantley Bell each had four hits for Kane County, and Long led the Cougars with five RBIs. Long, Thomas, and Hayden Dunhurst each homered for Kane County, who will face the winner of Friday’s afternoon game between Curacao’s Santa Maria Pirates and Nicaragua’s Tigres de Chinandega in Saturday’s early game.
The Lenadores will face Puerto Rico’s Titanes de Florida in Friday’s nightcap, with the winner advancing to face the Diablos Rojos del Mexico in Saturday’s late game.
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 6, Tigres de Chinandega 4 – The Diablos Rojos del Mexico advanced to the semifinals of the BCL Americas behind strong pitching, holding Nicaragua’s Tigres de Chinandega to one run on three hits over the first seven innings and surviving an eighth-inning rally.
The Diablos took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first when Aristedes Aquino homered to right, scoring Luis Liberato and Robinson Cano. They added two more in the top of the third when Jose Rondon and Moises Gutierrez scored on a single by Eduardo Antonini. Antonini’s sixth-inning RBI double scored Carlos Sepulveda for the sixth run of the game for the Reds.
Ricky Karcher, who was stellar in relief over the winter for Hermosillo of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, came in for the eighth for the Diablos, and promptly put two men on, hitting Emmanuel Trujillo and walking Jesus Lopez. Rodolfo Bone launched Karcher’s 0-1 offering into the left field bleachers, cutting the Diablos’ lead to 6-4, but Karcher then struck out Omar Mendoza and Isaac Mondragon, and then induced a fly-out from Juan Diego Montes to end the rally. Tomohiro Anraku struck out two in the ninth, earning the save.
Takeaways From Thursday’s BCL Games – Aside from the fact that extreme altitude can really hamper elite pitching — a fact that games in Mexico City have been proving for 100 years — perhaps the biggest surprise Thursday was that Las Tunas was able to get back into a game where they initially looked uncompetitive. Again, pitchers struggled in the thin air, and again, batters were able to take advantage when breaking balls don’t break and fastballs don’t move as much as they do at lower elevations. Las Tunas has a lot of pop in the lineup, and they should be able to get past the Titanes de Florida in the late game Friday. A win would get them a rematch with the Cougars on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigres de Chinandega got great pitching from the bullpen after former Major Leaguer J.C. Ramirez allowed five runs on 11 hits in 2 2/3 innings of work. Luis Somarriba, Santos Jarquin, Axel Zapata, and Bryan Torres combined to allow one run on four hits over the final 6 1/3 innings, stifling the potent Diablos lineup. Unfortunately for the Tigres, they’ll have to win two more games, one of them coming against the Diablos Rojos, just to reach the championship game. Will they have enough arms ready in the bullpen to win two games?
If the Santa Maria Pirates are to advance to the semifinals with a win against the Tigres, they’re going to need either put on a fireworks display at the plate or dig deep and get more out of their pitching than they did during group play. Santa Maria’s pitchers have allowed an astonishing 47 runs in two games at the BCL Americas, with only of the 11 pitchers who have taken the mound for the Pirates escaping unscathed. The lucky hurler, Djenior Mogen, allowed one hit and a walk, throwing a scoreless seventh inning against Las Tunas on Wednesday — the only inning where the Lenadores didn’t score.
Remaining Schedule at the BCL Americas
Friday, April 11
4:30 p.m. EDT – Santa Maria Pirates (Curacao) vs. Tigres de Chinandega (Nicaragua)
9:30 p.m. EDT – Titanes de Florida (Puerto Rico) vs. Lenadores de Las Tunas (Cuba)
Saturday, April 12
4 p.m. EDT – Semifinal 1 – Group A Winner vs. Winner of Friday Matinee
7:30 p.m. – Semifinal 2 -Group B Winner vs. Winner of Friday Nightcap
Sunday, April 13
2 p.m. – Championship Game
Broadcast Info – The 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas will be broadcast on Fubo Sports Network, RYZ Network, and streamed live on AAbaseball.tv.
Photo: Catcher Eduardo Antonini and reliever Tomohiro Anraku celebrate the Diablos Rojos del Mexico’s 6-4 win over the Tigres de Chinandega at the Baseball Champions League Americas on Thursday. (Photo courtesy of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico)
