Isla de la Juventud vie Ciego de Avila in Baseball Finale

Surprising Isla de la Juventud Island and Ciego de Avila will go head to head next Friday for the crown of the LIV Cuban Baseball championship, in a seven-out-of-four series.

Isla de la Juventud rewrote history after advancing for the first time to a finale, once they defeated in semifinals four wins to two over Matanzas, while Ciego de Avila eliminated Granma 4-1.

The Isla-Matanzas series was a hard dispute, since three of the six games went for extra-innings.

The last game ended this Wednesday after a five-hour battle at Victoria de Girón Stadium of Matanzas. The game ended with a 15x5 score by the Pirates of Isla de la Juventud, a team that achieved a great feat despite not having star players. On their way to the finale they defeated the powerful teams of Industriales, Pinar del Rio, and Matanzas.

Strong offensive of 20 hits, including a homerun by Julio Pablo Martinez, and a relief of speed pitcher Hector Mendoza, led the final victory of Isla de la Juventud, in one of the most attractive games of the season, although it went one-side at the end of the match.

“We are making history, this it is something truly big for us and in the finale we’ll give our best”, said Mendoza, 20 years old and one of the stars of the Cuban pitching staff.

In the same day, Ciego de Ávila topped off Granma 3x0 in their stadium, José Ramón Cepero, and reached their fourth win in a row in semifinals which they opened with a loss.

Ciego de Avila champions in 2012, classified to the finale for the third time in the last five years.

In the last game Roger Machado’s boys tipped the balance of the game by scoring early on the bottom of the first inning and twice on the fifth.

Yander Guevara, Cuba team member in the third World Classic, held down the strong offensive of Granma for nine innings, with only three hits allowed, six strike outs and no base on balls.

Ciego de Avila won in 2012 after defeating Industriales in just five games.

The finale will start on Friday at José Ramón Cepero Stadium where they will play also on Sunday, and then they’ll move to Cristóbal Labras Stadium, of Isla de la Juventud, where games are scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday if necessary.