U-18 World Cup: Panama runs away late to best Canada

Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) fields a ground ball for the Junior National Team in their 5-2 loss to Panama in WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Placement Round play on Saturday. Photo: Baseball Canada

September 17, 2022

Baseball Canada

BRADENTON, Florida - The Junior National Team had a hot start to their final game of the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, playing a near perfect game over three and a half innings, however, it was all Panama after that as they managed to score runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to secure a 5-2 victory over the Canadians. 

BOX SCORE – Canada 2, Panama 5

Canada got on the board in the first inning thanks to a Sam White (Aurora, Ont.) RBI ground out that scored Hugh Pinkney (Toronto, Ont.) who had singled earlier. The Canadian catcher was a spark all day for the offence as he came up in the top of the third and smashed a one-out double that allowed him to later score the second run via a Sam Shaw (Victoria, BC) RBI single to right field.

Parker Burgess (Douro-Dummer, Ont.) was the starting pitcher for Canada. He allowed three runs on four hits while striking out three in four innings. Jack Pineau (Thunder Bay, Ont.) and Makaio Cisneros (Whitby, Ont.) both worked an inning in relief. 

Two more runs would cross the plate for Panama in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a pair of miscues by the Canadian defence. 

Canada finishes the Placement Round of the event with a 2-3 record, pushing them outside of the top 10 in the competition. 

The Junior National Team will look to bounce back at the COPABE qualifiers for the 2023 U-18 Baseball World Cup which will take place later this year in La Paz, Mex.