Decisive day today in Group C of the U-23

Camagüey, July 3. - Like a thriller, Group C of the U-23 National Baseball Tournament reserved its best chapter for today: determining the only team from this group to qualify for the upcoming semifinal stage of the championship.

And no wonder: 17 matches have been insufficient to clarify everything, and until the final match of the current segment, some nebulous issues continue to linger.

The day before, the Camagüey team took a slight one-game lead over the main squad, thanks to their fifth consecutive victory over the Las Tunas team, which had pitcher Yonimiller Mendoza as their executioner, although they had excessive defensive errors.

Mendoza, who pitched the entire game, and despite allowing a home run, struck out six, which, combined with the eight struck out by his fellow countryman Riquelmi Odelín on Tuesday's triumphant day, give clues as to how muted the batters have been for that team, led by a legend of Cuban baseball: Osmani Urrutia.

There's one key: beating the team from Las Tunas again. Otherwise, we'd have to wait for another defeat from Sancti Spiritus against the team from Ciego de Ávila, as there's a real possibility of a three-way tie at the top.

If a collective embrace were to happen, we would have to look first at the balance between each other, and in that, the three teams (Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey, and Las Tunas) would maintain a similar balance: six wins and six setbacks.

Therefore, as a subsequent step, the TQB (Team Quality Balance) formula would be used, which includes the number of runs scored divided by the innings played on offense, minus the number of runs allowed divided by the innings played on defense.

With this method, the Las Tunas team has an advantage, to the detriment of the Sancti Spiritus and Camagüey. Therefore, the Toros need to win, and they would avoid having to wait for results from third parties.

So far, Marcos Torres is ranked 22nd among the best batsmen, with a high average of .391, and Osniel Expósito is ranked 25th with .385. Meanwhile, the team average is .247 (103 hits in 417 at-bats).

The pitch shows as a positive signal, which barely connect him to 190 (77 hits in 406 at-bats). (Text: Gilberto Rodríguez Rivero/Radio Cadena Agramonte Contributor) (Photo: Istvan Ojeda, taken from www.periodico26.cu)

Team Status

W L Diff

Camagüey... 10 7 x

Las Tunas..... 9 8 1

S. Spíritus..... 9 8 1

C. de Ávila....6 11 4