Six Home Runs Power Cuba Past South Africa

A perennial baseball powerhouse that has no Major Leaguers on the team, Cuba is always a dangerous team. They are mostly known for their pitching, but they flashed big-time power against South Africa. Six home runs were the order of the day for Cuba, as they beat up on the South Africans 8-1, while setting a Classic record for home runs in a game.

Of course, Cuba also flashed its pitching prowess as well. Cuban starter Norge Luis Vera allowed only two hits over 6 innings of work, and even carried a no-hitter into the 5th inning. Vera struck out six over the course of his outing as well.

However, the real story was the Cuban power. Frederich Cepeda was responsible for two of the six Cuban home runs, while Despaigne, Hector Olivera, Yuniesky Gourriel, and Cespedes added in on the fun.

Barry Armitage was the South African starter, and he was tagged for 5 runs on 8 hits, but he did take advantage of some over-aggressiveness on the part of Cuba, picking off two Cuban runners.

Cuba moves on to face Australia, who powered up themselves in their 17-7 rout of Mexico, while South Africa faces the Mexicans to try and stay alive in the tournament.