The first round of the World Cup concluded today, with four Pittsburgh Pirates prospects seeing action.
Team USA defeated China to advance to the second round. Pedro Alvarez went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Gift Ngoepe went 1 for 3, but South Africa was eliminated from the tournament. In his three games, Gift went 4 for 10 with two runs.
Tom Boleska pitched four innings, allowing one run on three hits, with two walks and eight strikeouts to get the save for Great Britain, helping his country move on to the next round.
Dustin Molleken pitched a perfect inning in relief, with one strikeout, as Canada improved to 3-0 in the first round.
Molleken will be in the same second round group as Pedro Alvarez and Brad Lincoln on Team USA. Boleska will be in the same division as Puerto Rico, which is R.J. Rodriguez’s team. Gift Ngoepe was the only Pirates prospect whose team was eliminated today.
The 2009 Winter League Tracker has been updated.
