HAVANA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday defeated Cuba in the final of the Olympic Baseball Qualifying Tournament held in Cuban capital Havana. Both teams qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games.
The U.S. team beat the Cubans 8-5 thanks to a series of home runs in the late Tuesday competition, giving a taste of their own medicine to the Cuban team which had defeated a long list opponents in the same way.
Tuesday's loss broke the Cuban team's run of unbroken wins in the competition.
The U.S. team scored five such home runs in front of the 40,000-strong crowd in the Latinoamericano Stadium, shaming Cuba'sfour pitchers.
The U.S.' Skip Schumacher and Brian La Hair led the batting, put in an impressive performance at the beginning, despite the best efforts of pitcher Ariel Palma. And it was only when 90-mph pitcher Yunieski Maya took over that the U.S. felt any resistance.
The top four teams also win a place in the 2007 Baseball World Championships, and the third- and fourth-placed teams -- Mexico and Canada -- also secured places in a play-off matches for the Olympics, against play-off teams from the European, Asian, Africanand Oceania leagues.
The top seven teams, which also include Venezuela, Panama, and Nicaragua, also go through to the 2007 Rio de Janeiro-based Pan American Games.
