Cuba vs. Venezuela today at semifinals in pre-World Cup baseball tournament

LA GUAIRA, Aug 19 (ACN) Cuban right-hander Yanet Cruz, who has worked in four of the five games played by Cuba, will be the starter today against Venezuela in the semifinal phase of the pre-World Cup of the Americas tournament at the Jorge Luis Garcia Carneiro stadium in this city.

Cruz was the pitcher who pitched the most inning among all the participants, with 15.2 in which she gave 13 tickets, so she must improve her control Friday to aspire to win against the locals.

For Venezuela will be right-hander Mary Rodriguez, who already defeated Cuba in the qualifying phase by 8-3, based on slow pitches off the plate and a good changeup curve against which the pupils of Cuban manager Jorge Luis Pimienta were very unstable.

Cuba finished fourth collectively in batting (248, 30-121), with an infield home run by designated hitter Roxana Cuello, was second in pitching (3.50, shared with Venezuela), while finishing fourth in defense (943), by displaying nine errors in 96 pitches.

Today, the fifth place match will also be played between Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, while Mexico-Puerto Rico will decide the other semifinal.