Panama Beats Columbia to qualify for 2013 World Baseball Classic
Panama qualified for the World Baseball Classic by beating the Columbian team 9-7 in a must win game.
The game saw some drama with over five thousand fans cheering for the home team. The match had some heated moment with Columbian Manager Eduardo Perez and Panama’s relieving pitcher Ramiro Mendoza got ejected while the Panama Manager Roberto Kelly almost
got the boot as well.
Kelly in the end of the day was a happy manager with his team qualifying for the World Baseball Classic. At one point, the Panama team was ahead by six runs courtesy of a five run second innings. The Columbians made a comeback with a three run fourth innings
to cut short the deficit to three.
Perez’s ejection came after he had an exchange with the home-plate umpire Clint Fagan. Perez later attributed the ejection to miscommunication between the two.
"I'm walking back to the dugout and I say, 'Man, that was the wrong call,'" Eduardo said. "But I was talking to myself. ... As far as where I watched the game from, television did a great job on that part and let's leave it at that."
In the bottom of the eighth, the Columbians scored three more, making it a close contest. Manny Corpas however shut-out the Columbian batters in the ninth and won the game for his team.
Eduardo Perez, who is a coach for the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball, reflected positively on the experience. "The experience was awesome," Perez said. "I've done it as a player, done it as a coach, and now as a manager.”
Roberto Kelly was pleased with the outcome and thought it was a great game for everyone. "It was a good game for the fans," Kelly said. "Good game for TV, it's a good game for everybody else, a good game for the country because we won the game at the end."
The event will take place in March next year. The number of teams participating in the tournament has increased from 16 to 28 this year. Japan is the defending champion after winning the event in 2009. A number of Major League players are expected to represent
their native countries and it will be interesting to see who comes up on top in the 2013 event.
Tags: