Ignoring pressure and having fun, Cuba gets off to a winning start at the Little League World Series

Updated Aug. 17, 2024 12:54 p.m. ET

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SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Marloon Herrera was crying. Happy tears.

With Cuba trailing in the fifth inning of its Little League World Series opener on Thursday, Marloon lined a two-run double to give his team the lead. When the Czech Republic, representing Europe-Africa, made a pitching change, he ran over to give his third base coach a hug.

Cuba went on to win 4-1. It was the first game at this year’s tournament for both sides, but it also was the beginning of Cuba’s second appearance in the Little League World Series ever. And it was emotional.

“You breathe baseball in Cuba,” manager Everaldo Machado said Friday through an interpreter, reflecting on the win and the journey of the team from Santa Clara Little League.

Little League and Cuban baseball officials established a partnership in 2019, clearing the way for Cuba to send teams to the LLWS this year and last year. In 2023, a club from Bayamo had a tough ride, suffering one-run losses to Japan and Panama sandwiched around a win over Australia.

No wonder Cuban closer Yans Espinosa celebrated the final out on Thursday — a strikeout looking — by spiking his glove like Shohei Ohtani did after striking out Mike Trout in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In left field at Volunteer Stadium, Marloon fell to his knees.

“I knew it was important, it was an important game for the team,” Yans said through an interpreter.

The team is taking in the whole LLWS experience. It attended Venezuela’s 10-0 victory over Mexico on Friday afternoon, sitting just two rows in front of the team they defeated the day before. Japan’s club separated them. The Cuban and Japanese players exchanged fist bumps and high-fives as they sat down.

“They know that this is like a field of dreams, and it’s like a party for them,” Machado said.

Traveling 1,306 miles from their hometown of Villa Clara to South Williamsport, Machado said there was pressure at the start of the team's opener before the 11- and 12-year-old players eventually settled into the atmosphere.

A crowd of Cuba fans cheered proudly in the stands just above the dugout. While most of the players’ parents didn’t make the trip to Pennsylvania, they’ve been paying close attention.

“The phones don’t stop,” Machado said. “It’s something fundamental, you know, they need that support.”

Villa Clara is a small town where baseball and family are staples of the community. Starting pitcher Deivy Hernandez and Yans were initially introduced to the game by relatives.

“My uncle took me to a baseball field and I met a coach there and asked permission so I could practice,” Deivy said. “From that point on, I’ve just loved baseball.”

The Cuban manager said keeping that passion and the laughs going off the field are the keys for his team — winning is an added bonus.

That attitude could come in handy for Cuba's next game against Taiwan, which shut out Canada and Australia in its first two games by a combined score of 19-0.

“They need to keep on playing with no pressure,” Machado said. “Just thinking to have fun, and that’ll be something important just to move on.”

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Amanda Vogt is a student in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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