Thursday, October 19, 2023.- In front of a large crowd at Parque Bicentenario de Cerrillos, Brazil surprised Venezuela by winning 3-1 in the opening match of Group B of the male’s baseball competition of the Pan American Games.

Brazilians only needed the three runs they scored in the second inning to take the lead. Meanwhile, the Venezuelans managed to score in the fifth inning, but it wasn't enough to overcome the early disadvantage.

After the game, the winning team's players stayed on the Cerrillos field for several minutes, hugging each other and bidding farewell to their fans, to the disappointment of the equally numerous Venezuelan supporters.

With this loss, if Venezuela intends to stay in the competition, they will need a positive outcome in their next match, which will be against the strong team of Cuba on Sunday. Brazil, on the other hand, will face Colombia with much more confidence on the same day.

On Friday, at 09:30 am, the first round of the baseball competition in Santiago 2023 will be completed with the remaining Group B match between Cuba, another favorite for the gold medal, and Colombia.

It's worth noting that in Group A, Mexico defeated Chile 16-0 on Wednesday, while on Thursday, Panama beat the Dominican Republic 3-1. On Saturday, the Dominicans will face the Mexicans at 09:30 a.m., and the Chileans will compete against the Panamanians at 03:00 p.m.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the super round, from which the three teams to stand on the podium will emerge.

Written by Alejandro Pérez; translated by Vicente Valdivia / Photosport
Photo: Pepe Alvujar/Santiago 2023 vía Photosport