Day 8 brought the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games baseball tournament to a close, with Panama claiming gold, Nicaragua earning silver and Puerto Rico taking bronze in a high-stakes finish on the diamond.

Panama (6-1) 1, Nicaragua (4-3) 0 – Panama captured the gold medal dramatically, scoring the decisive run in the final minutes of the eighth inning to defeat Nicaragua and finish atop the medal standings.

The game remained scoreless through seven innings before Héctor Arturo Rayo Mendoza delivered the decisive RBI single to right field in the bottom of the eighth, scoring Vincent Jael Kadimir Escobar.

The walk-off victory secured Panama the gold medal at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in an extra-inning finish.

Panama’s pitching staff set the tone throughout, with starter Darío Agrazal throwing seven scoreless innings before Kevin Miranda earned the win in relief.

Nicaragua won the silver medal and pitcher Sergio Umaña and the rest of the roster pushed Panama to the absolute limit, holding them scoreless through seven innings before the walk-off in the eighth.

Nicaragua’s infield executed flawless fundamental techniques on the field, but turned two critical double plays behind their pitching staff to repeatedly escape high-pressure jams, keeping the score low.

Puerto Rico (4-3) 9, Cuba (4-3) 1 – Puerto Rico secured the bronze medal Friday with a decisive victory over Cuba, closing out the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games baseball tournament and securing their place on the podium.

In the third inning, José J. Rivera doubled down the right-field line to score Anthony García and Rubén Castro Ortiz, then scored himself on Edison William Rodríguez’s RBI single to center.

Kevin Luciano followed with an RBI single to left-center, bringing home Rodríguez, before García added another run with an RBI single to center in the fourth.

Castro Ortiz scored on a sacrifice bunt, Rivera drove in García with a single to left-center, and Jadiel Sánchez later walked to bring home Ortiz before García doubled in the fifth to score Kevin Santa Torres.

Yoel Yanqui, batting .409 with a 1.117 OPS, added an RBI sacrifice fly to left field in the third inning to score Andi Cosme.

Cuba finished the tournament in fourth place after a strong start in the opening rounds, maintaining a competitive position through the Super Round and finishing just outside the medal positions.

Photo courtesy of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation