Cuba loses to Panama in Pan-American U23 Baseball Championship. (Photo: Radio Habana Cuba)

Cuba lost 0-2 to Panama in the start of the final hexagonal of the Pan-American U23 Baseball Championship, based in that same country.

The Cuban line-up only batted five hits, two by DH Norel Gonzalez, against starter and winner Harold Araus and reliever Jesus Benitez, who achieved six strikeouts in three innings.

Meanwhile, left-hander Ulfrido Garcia also had a great pitching performance as he pitched a complete game only allowing three hits, but two of them were back-to-back homers by 1B Ibrahim McKenzie and SS Javier Guerra in the fifth inning.

Now, Cuba has balance of three losses and no win, and appears on bottom of the standings with real few possibilities of getting one of the four tickets this tournament grants to next year’s U23 World Cup.

The standings is lead by Venezuela which is undefeated in three games and is followed by Mexico and Panama (2-1); Puerto Rico and the DR (1-2); and Cuba (0-3).