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Yahoo!
October 8, 2002
U.S. tops Panama, Cuba beats the Dominican Republic in Americas Series
tournament
MONTERREY, Mexico, 8 (AP)- The United States needed a two-run home run by
Dave Callahan to outlast Panama 3-1 and advance to the finals of the Americas
Series baseball tournament.
Tuesday night's final will see the Americans take on Cuba, who improved to
9-0 in the tournament by topping the Dominican Republic 3-1.
Audes de Leon gave Panama the early lead with a solo home run off U.S.
starter Kevin Henthorne in the first. The Americans grabbed the lead for good in
the fourth when Mike Glavine led off with a double and then scored on Callahan's
shot over the center field fence.
Willie Morales made it 3-1 in the sixth, smacking a double to left and then
scoring on a double by Kyne Hawthorne.
Henthorne earned the win for the Americans, scattering four hits and one run
over six and two-thirds innings. Todd Rizzo finished the game for the U.S.
squad, retiring all four batters he faced in order while striking out one.
Panama starter Alvaro Hernandez took the loss, giving up three runs on seven
hits and walking two in seven innings of work. Reliever Roger Deago gave up
three hits and struck out two in the final two innings.
The Americans won their third-straight game after losing four games in the
series' second round. They will face Cuba, which got on the board in the first
inning thanks to a pair of Dominican errors.
Dominican starter Jose Luis Seneh threw a wild-pitch, allowing Michel
Enriquez to score from third. A bad throw to third that sent the ball into the
outfield allowed Jose Santos to score from second to make it 2-0.
A solo homer by Julian Yan in the second and another by Randy Guzman in the
third tied the game, but Cuba again took the lead in its half of the third
inning when an RBI single by Frederick Cepeda scored Eduardo Paret from second.
Cuba added an insurance run in the eighth when Cepeda reached on a two-out
double and scored one batter later on Amaury Casanas' line-drive single to
center.
Cuban starter Jose Ibar Medina left in the fifth with the score tied,
opening the door for reliever Vioyohandi Odelin, who pitched four and two-thirds
innings to get the win. Seneh took the loss, allowing three runs, four hits and
a surprising six walks in five and two-thirds innings of work.
Panama and the Dominican Republic will battle for third place Tuesday.
Panamanian accused of aiding a plot to kill Cuba's Castro dies of heart
failure
PANAMA CITY, Panama, 7 (AP) - A Panamanian accused of harboring men who
plotted to kill Cuban President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) during an
international summit in 2000 died of heart failure in a hospital in northwestern
Panama, doctors said late Monday.
Jose Valladares was accused of letting Luis Posada Cariles and other Cuban
exiles stay at his home in the days leading up to the Ibeo-American summit in
Panama City in November 2000.
Upon arriving to the meeting, Castro immediately held a news conference to
announce that exiles in the country were plotting to assassinate him.
The announcement led to the arrest of Valladares and a contingent of Cuban
exiles including Posada, whom Castro blames for numerous terrorist acts against
the island.
Hugo Moreno, a doctor at a hospital in the city of Boquete, near the Costa
Rican border, called a press conference to say that Valladares' heart suddenly
stopped Monday afternoon and that efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
Panama refused Cuban demands to extradite Valladares, Posada and the other
plotters to the island and the government has said it lacks enough evidence to
try them for attempted murder.
Valladares was placed under house arrest at his home in Boquete on charges
that were never fully explained. He was scheduled to appear in court for a
preliminary hearing Dec. 5. Posada and the others are being held in Panama City
on weapons and other charges. | 
