Canada is in the Super Round of the 2021 Americas Baseball Olympic Qualifier in Florida. On Tuesday, Canada defeated Cuba 6-5 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. With the loss, Cuba will not be attending the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
This is stunning when you consider Cuba’s strong history in Olympic Baseball. In the five previous Olympic Games in history, Cuba won three gold medals and two silver medals. However, the Cuban team got off to a poor start in Florida this week, as they not only lost 6-5 to Canada, but 6-5 to Venezuela as well.
In Canada’s win over Cuba, first baseman Connor Panas of Toronto, Ontario, and third baseman Eric Wood of Toronto, Ontario each had multi-hit games. Panas had two singles, while Wood had one single and one double. They each scored one run, while Panas had two runs batted in, and Wood had one run batted in.
For the second straight game, a Canadian batter hit a home run. In the Canadian win over Cuba, Michael Crouse of Port Moody, British Columbia hit a seventh-inning dinger to put Canada up 5-1 at the time. The Canadian player with a home run against Colombia was Wood.
On Wednesday, Canada plays Venezuela. Both teams advance to the Super Round, however, the result of the game is carried over into the weekend. In Group A, the United States has qualified for the Super Round, while the Dominican Republic will play Nicaragua for the final Super Round spot.
