Kane County Cougars (2-0) 16, CTBC Brothers (0-3) 10 – In a wild first inning, the CTBC Brothers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the inning, getting four RBI singles and having a batter hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, but then gave up 10 runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Su Wei Ta, Lin Jui Chun, Hu Meng Chih, and Yang Shiang He each had RBI singles in the top of the first for the Brothers, but once the Cougars came to bat in the bottom of the inning, the tables were turned.
Elvis Peralta led off the bottom of the first with a single, and Josh Allen followed him with a homer to get the Cougars on the board. Consecutive walks to Dillon Thomas and Jabari Henry gave Kane County runners at first and second with no outs, and then Josh Rehwaldt and Max Murphy followed with singles to score Thomas and Henry. Claudio Finol singled home Rehwaldt to tie the game, and when Peralta came up for the second time, the bases were loaded, and a walk to Peralta gave the Cougars the lead. Allen picked up another RBI with a single, and then bases-loaded walks to Thomas, Henry, and Rehwaldt made it 10-5.
All told, the Brothers used four pitchers to get out of the first inning, with starter Chen Yuan-Wei failing to retire a batter and allowing six runs on four hits and two walks.
In the second, the Cougars got an RBI single from Allen that scored Peralta with the game-winning run, and then Dillon Thomas got Allen home with a single to right field.
Chiu Teng Chen hit a solo homer for the Brothers in the sixth, but they never again threatened.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 2-0 and remain in the hunt for a berth in Sunday’s final game. They’ll face the Cocodrilos de Matanzas of Cuba’s Serie Nacional tomorrow at noon EDT.
The loss eliminates the Brothers from contention, though they still have one game to play in the round robin, which will be Friday night against the Diablos Rojos del Mexico at 9 p.m. EDT.
Dantos de Managua (2-1) 16, Cocodrilos de Matanzas (1-1) 6 – Brandon Leyton, William Rayo, and Bryan Ruiz each had a double and a homer for the Dantos, who scored six runs in the fourth, three in the fifth, and five in the sixth on their way to a dominating win over Matanzas.
Leyton went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and five RBIs in the win, while Rayo went 2-for-4 and Ruiz went 2-for-5.
Dantos reliever Jorge Bucardo was stellar in relief, allowing one hit, striking out six and walking none over five scoreless innings, and Bryan Torres closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Dantos have Friday off before playing their final game of the round robin on Saturday at noon EDT against the Kane County Cougars (2-0) in a game that will likely determine one of the two finalists. The Cocodrilos face Kane County Friday at noon EDT,
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
Cocodrilos de Matanzas 9, CTBC Brothers 8
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 10, Dantos de Managua 6
March 26
Kane County Cougars 16, CTBC Brothers 10
Dantos de Managua 16, Cocodrilos de Matanzas 6
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: The CTBC Brothers scored five runs in the first inning but couldn’t overcome the Kane County Cougars. (Photo courtesy of the WBSC)
