2007 Baseball World Cup Semi Final: Cuba meets USA 8 times

November 18, 2007

In the semi-final of 2007 Baseball World Cup, except for Cuba vs Japan, USA battled Netherlands this series after the host team (Chinese Taipei) was eliminated by Netherlands.

Cuba vs Japan
The starting pitcher Aroldis Chapman had a excellence performance in his 8-innings pitching. He had a great chance to become the winning pitcher with effective offenses in the top of 4th and 9th innings by his teammates. Even though Toshiyuki Hayashi was hit by a pitch from Champan in the bottom of 7th inning, and Pedro Luis Lazo almostly broke a save, Cuba luckily won Japan by Cuba's final closer Yuniesky Maya with 5-3.

Netherlands vs USA
In this key game, 2A and 3A Minor League players from USA played a great role. Colby Rasmus from 2A hit a lead-off home run in the bottom of the 1st inning. His teammates also made an effective offense to score 4 RBIs by a full base chance in the bottom of the 8th inning. Finally, USA beat the Netherlands 5-0. They will take on Cuba 8 times in the Final of 2007 Baseball World Cup.

5th Place Qualifications

 * Australia 7-1 Mexico
 * Chinese Taipei 0-3 South Korea

Final Day Fixtures (November 18)

 * Finals: USA vs Cuba
 * 3rd-Place: Japan vs Netherlands
 * 5th Place: South Korea vs Australia
 * 7th Place: Mexico vs Chinese Taipei