Curaçao 2 – Cuba 1
Curacao punched their ticket to play the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Cup final with a 2-1 win over defending champion Cuba. In a very tight contest between two talented teams, Curaçao used a key third inning and a strong performance from reliever Nkosi Diddier to win the game.
Joharvi Martinus started the game for Curaçao and dueled against Cuban starter and tournament standout Jose Bermudez. Neither team could score until the third inning, when Curaçao’s second baseman, Kevin Josephina, brought in two runs with a double to give Curaçao the first runs in the game.
Martinus got in a bit of trouble in the bottom of the third. He allowed a run via a Carlos Tejera Vin RBI and was dealing with multiple baserunners while only recording one out. Curaçao head coach Hainley Statia pulled the trigger quickly in this pivotal matchup and brought in righty Nkosi Diddier.
Diddier was able to get Curaçao out of the inning without any runs scored and continued to deliver on the mound. Bermudez pitched well for Cuba in his 5.2 innings of work, but those runs in the third inning made the difference in the game. Diddier was able to silence the Cuban offense for the remainder of the afternoon, and Curaçao won a low-scoring affair by a score of 2-1 to clinch their spot in the gold medal game on Oct. 28 at 7:00 EST.
Cuba will play in the third-place game at 3:00 p.m. EST to try and bring the bronze medal back home.
The gold and bronze medal games of the Caribbean Cup will be available to watch on r1live.com with game recaps available here on worldbaseball.com.
