Honduras played host to a historic first for baseball and, possibly, for all major international sport: a tournament for Under-10 baseball players. This inaugural Pan-American Championship for this age level had little fanfare and it is unclear how the site was selected or why no other countries participated. Our understanding was that the event was WBSC-sanctioned and would include rankings points, but the latest rating did not offer any points.
An additional note of interest is that the player listed by Brazil as ‘Juan Muniz Filho’ is J.C. Muniz’ son. Muniz is a long-time veteran of Brazil’s national team and has also played in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines, and in the Florida Marlins’ system.
Brazil started off by winning its first three games, including a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Dominican Republic, but were then shut out by Nicaragua and lost to Guatemala for the latter’s only win. Nicaragua thus cruised to the No. 1 seed in the semis, while Brazil had a rematch with the D.R.
This time, the Dominicans cruised to a 10-2 victory, while host Honduras kept things surprisingly close against Nicaragua. Having dropped from a tie for first through three days, Nicaragua instead played a close one against Honduras, ultimately winning 3-0. The final saw Nicaragua properly challenged for the first time, squeaking by the Dominicans, 2-0.
All First-Round days were 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. Games were scheduled for seven innings. Full results and some awards are available below.
December 1
Nicaragua 11 – D.R. 1
El Salvador 1 – Brazil 14
Honduras 15 – Guatemala 0
December 2
D.R. 2 – Brazil 3
Guatemala 3 – El Salvador 11
Honduras 0 – Nicaragua 13 (5)
December 3
Nicaragua 17 – Guatemala 0 (3)
D.R. 12 – El Salvador 11
Brazil 9 – Honduras 2
December 4
Brazil 0 – Nicaragua 5
Guatemala 1 – D.R. 12
Honduras 2 – El Salvador 0
December 5
Guatemala 7 – Brazil 6
El Salvador 1 – Nicaragua 12
D.R. 14 – Honduras 1
First Round Standings:
Nicaragua 5-0
Brazil 3-2
D.R. 3-2
Honduras 2-3
El Salvador 1-4
Guatemala 1-4
December 7 (Semifinals)
D.R. 10 – Brazil 2
Nicaragua 5 – Honduras 1
December 8 (Finals and Third Place)
Brazil 3 – Honduras 0
Nicaragua 2 – D.R. 0
Final Standings:
Nicaragua 7-0
D.R. 4-3
Brazil 4-3
Honduras 2-5
El Salvador 1-4
Guatemala 1-4
Partial All-Tournament Team
Christopher Castellón (Nicaragua)
Leyman Hernández (Nicaragua)
Bruno Isotani (Brazil)
Gustavo Silva (Brazil)
Leaders
Juan Muñiz, Jr. [Filho] (Brazil) among hits leaders (9)
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