Cuba Knocks Out Puerto Rico in U-15 Baseball Pre-World Cup

The Cuban national team continued its winning streak today in the U-15 Baseball Pre-World Cup by defeating Puerto Rico via knockout, 13-2, in the penultimate round of the tournament, held in the Dominican Republic.

That victory over the Puerto Ricans, sealed in just five innings, marked the third win for Alexander Urquiola’s squad, who had opened the competition with losses against both the host team and the same rival they overpowered this Wednesday.

With a 3-2 record, the team from the largest island of the Antilles is now tied with Puerto Rico for second place in the standings, awaiting the evening matchup between leaders the Dominican Republic (3-1) and Aruba, the only winless team (0-4) in this Caribbean four-team event.

This regional championship will reward only the winner with a direct berth to the U-15 Baseball World Cup, scheduled for Italy in 2026.

The final day of competition will be played on Thursday, featuring matchups between Dominican Republic–Puerto Rico and Cuba–Aruba, both decisive in determining the final table.

“Whoever finishes second in the tournament will have to wait for two wild-card spots,” which will be distributed among the runners-up of the three regional competitions organized by WBSC Americas, the governing body of baseball on the continent. The organization announced that the first selection criterion will be the number of participating teams, followed by placement in the world ranking.

This parameter places the Caribbean tournament’s second-place finisher in a difficult position, as only four teams are competing here, while the other events feature five national squads.

In the South Zone championship, Venezuela emerged victorious, followed by Colombia, while in the North and Central America region, Mexico, the United States, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica will compete for the world championship berth.