The bat of Yordanis Samon and the control of Erlys Casanova, guided on Thursday the 3-1 success of Alazanes de Granma (Cuba) against Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (USA), at the beginning of the Baseball Champions League.

At the Kukulcan Alamo stadium in the Mexican city of Merida, Samon, who is batting third, once again demonstrated his good performance in international events and hit 4-3.

One of those hits was a double in the eighth inning against reliever Garrett Alexander, which broke the one-run tie, and then scored the Alazanes' third run after a sacrifice fly by starter Guillermo Aviles.

The Granma team was trapped for five chapters by starter Christian Young, who was barely allowed one run after Yordanis Alarcon's jit and Samon scored the first of his two runs.

Meanwhile, the right-hander from Pinar del Rio Erlys Casanova put the ball where he wanted it, his combination of fast breaks and fast deliveries caused havoc and he only allowed one score in six innings due to a home run by the catcher Roy Morales, the best hitter for the Americans, who went 4-3.
In that work he struck out six, allowed four hits and his control was masterful, as he barely gave up a single ticket.

Today, in their second game, the Alazanes from Granma will face the Caimanes de Barranquilla, champion club of the Colombian League.

Cuban mentor Leonardo Soto will give the ball to Havana right-hander Raymond Figueredo.