Villeda, Hurtarte, Dieguez homers propel Guatemala to key win over Colombia

Luis Pedro Villeda, Dennis Hurtarte, and Pedro Dieguez homered to lead Guatemala to a 9-2 victory over Colombia in six innings at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Group C at Devon Park - OGE Energy Field in Oklahoma, USA, on Thursday. The win boosts Guatemala's record to 2-1, with a doubleheader to close the Opening Round on Friday.

Guatemala's bats came alive early in the game to take the lead. Nery del Cid hit a lead-off double to the right-centre field gap, and Luis Pedro Villeda followed with a home run to left field, a ball that was carried by the wind blowing out to left field. They never looked back. A double play and a spectacular diving catch by Colombian left fielder Jhon Lara limited the damage for the South American team.

The Colombians loaded the bases in the top of the third with one out, after two walks and a single. However, Guatemala's starter Jorge Segura retired the final two hitters with an infield fly and a grounder to shortstop, escaping the inning unscathed.

Guatemala’s bats came alive again in the bottom of the fourth to double their lead. Hurtarte crushed a 73 mph drop ball beyond the 300 ft mark at OGE Energy Field for a solo homer. Two outs later, Dieguez followed with a home run to left field, giving his team a 4-0 advantage.

In the fifth, Colombia got on the board with two runs on an illegal pitch and on a two-out RBI single by Aldo Navia.

However, Guatemala broke the game wide open in the bottom half of the inning with a four-run rally, highlighted by an RBI triple from Fabian Vizcaino, an RBI single by Gerardo Dacaret, and a two-run single from Manuel Hernandez.

They wrapped up the game with ease, drawing four consecutive walks with two outs to bring in the ninth and final run.

Segura earned the win, striking out seven over six innings while allowing two runs on four hits.

This victory puts Guatemala in a good position to secure a spot in Friday's Playoffs, improving their record to 2-1. On Friday, they will face the Netherlands and Japan to close the Opening Round. Meanwhile, Colombia (1-2) will play the Netherlands next to complete their doubleheader.