Venezuelans earn first win at World Juniors

Darwin Ramirez is a reliever by trade.

And though no one will ever mistake the 17-year-old for Pedro Martinez, he does a pretty good job filling in in a pinch.

Ramirez, with just 10 teammates on the bench beside him, went fastball heavy at Team France, who couldn’t take advantage of early control issues or get the clutch hits to score the opportunities he did afford them.

The Merida, Venezuela native went six strong innings, allowing just four hits and a single run, the lone blemish on his line being the five walks he allowed.

He drew the starting assignment for one reason, and one reason only, said Venezuelan manager Cesar Colmenares, whose team left Caracas Friday night around midnight, arriving in Thunder Bay 12 hours later, thanks in part to flight delays.

“He was one of the players who had a visa and could be here at this time. We used him as a starter and he did a very good job,” Colmenares said through a translator. “He still needs some work on his control, but he did great.”

The lead-up to their arrival in Thunder Bay for the World Junior Baseball Championship was frustrating to say the least, he added, costing them a forfeit loss on Friday to Australia and the lack of rest hurt them in Saturday’s shocking 6-5 extra inning loss to Italy.

Another loss on Sunday would have been devastating, Colmenares said, and would have dropped the team in an 0-3 hole that would have been tough to climb out from.

“Today we were rested and we came to play the way we usually play hardball. And we got the result we wanted.”

Nothing a good night’s sleep –and five errors by the opposition – can’t cure, it seems. Though as the game got under way, it looked like it might be more of the same.

The French (0-2) got to Ramirez in the first, loading the bases with no outs, but as they would realize as the game progressed, being able to hit in the clutch is a must to winning baseball games.

They couldn’t.

“Players on our team, with the bases loaded, can’t hit,” said the French leadoff hitter, the aptly named Andy Pitcher. “We have to focus on that.”

It wasn’t the only time the French set themselves up for a big inning, couldn’t get the job done and walked away empty handed.

They had a pair of runners on with one out in the third, but failed to capitalize and runners on first and second with two outs in the fifth, only to have Alexandre Defontaine ground weakly to second swinging on the first pitch.

The Venezuelans (1-2), meanwhile did make the best of their early opportunities. Eduardo Arocha, who reached on the first of the French miscues in the first, came around to score on Igna Fuenmayor’s double down the right-field line, giving Venezuela a 1-0 lead.

Unlike Saturday, they didn’t squander this one, taking it to the French the rest of the way.

After retiring the first Venezuelan batter in the second, French pitcher Amin Touhari hurt his own chances, hitting Ramirez – his team wasn’t using a DH in this one – and surrendering singles to Manuel Palma and Rafael Garcia. The runners held, but Pitcher got a little over-anxious and fired a throw from centre that sailed over catcher Andy Paz, allowing Ramirez to score the game`s second run.

A wild pitch later and it was 3-0.

Leadoff hitter Jeckson Flores then hit a tricky grounder to third and Coopman threw it away for the second straight inning, the fourth and final run the Venezuelans would score in the second.

Dennis Faccendi took over pitching duties in the fifth, and pitched well, retiring 10 of 11 batters at one point, be he too proved fallible in the sixth, when Garcia homered to make it 7-1.

Keivin Rojas, the only other pitcher dressed for the Venezuelans, took over in the seventh and was victimized in the ninth for a pair of runs after hitting pinch hitter Theo Lakmeche and walking Paz. Defontaine knocked in the first with an infield grounder, Coopman the second on a solid single.

Next up for France is Italy on Monday at Port Arthur Stadium. Venezuela has the day off to prepare for the USA on Tuesday.