Cuba Rallies Past Dominican Republic 5-3 | Coastal Classic Baseball

January 3 2025 Cuba came from behind with late offense to defeat the Dominican Republic 5-3 in a seven-inning game at Coastal Black. Cuba finished with 10 hits and one error while the Dominican Republic had five hits and two errors.

The Dominican Republic took an early lead when Alex Tapia opened the bottom of the first with a solo home run. After Cuba tied the game in the second on Pablo Hernandez's sacrifice fly, the Dominican Republic scored twice in the bottom half to move ahead 3-1. Cuba cut the deficit to one in the fifth on Reinando Armando's sacrifice fly, then scored two runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead and added an insurance run in the seventh.

Roidel Martinez led Cuba's offense by going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Osday Silva went 2-for-3, Lenier Ulloa went 2-for-4, and Hernandez finished 1-for-2 with an RBI. Armando also drove in a run for Cuba.

Tapia paced the Dominican Republic, going 2-for-3 with a home run, an RBI, a run scored and a walk. Tito Cabrera, Rafael Gross and Miguel Celestino each added a hit for the Dominican Republic.

Arnold Cuenca earned the win for Cuba, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits over four innings with four walks and seven strikeouts. Franklin Quintana recorded the save with two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out five. Jusef Frias took the loss for the Dominican Republic after allowing one run on two hits over 2.2 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.