Shown above in 2006 at the ISF Women's World Championship, Mariangee Bogado was the winning pitcher for Venezuela in the title game at the recent tournament in Cuba.

WOMEN’S & MEN’S WINNERS CROWNED IN CUBA
2008-05-05

(translated from Spanish, written for the ISF by Mario Garrido)

LA HABANA, CUBA – Showing their bravery and excellence in recovering to the preliminaries in the game, the Dominican Republic men’s team overcame a three run deficit and defeated the Centrales, 5-4, at the decisive game to win the title and get the softball gold medals at the 2008 edition of the IV Olympic Cuban Sports, held in the fields of the Softball Academy in Ciego de Avila.

The Centrales earned the right to compete for the title by defeating the Orientales, 5-2, with excellent work in the pitching circle by right hander Alain Roman. The loss went to Javier Caballero from Santiago.

The final order of finish saw the gold medals to the Dominicans, silver for the Centrales, and bronze for the Orientales.

On the women’s side, the games were played in Manzanillo, Province of Granma, and included a 2-1 victory for the Centrales, who played against the Occidentales. Venezuela defeated the Orientales, 10-6, in the second game.

With these results everything was ready for the medal game, where the Venezuela team, who are the Central-American Champions (Colombia 2006) and one of eight participants in the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, won the title over the Orientales, 8-2, with the victory for Mariangee Bogado, one of the best pitchers in these games, who defeated another star, Marlen Bubaire.

When the competition ended, the pitching leader was Mariela Castellanos (VEN), with a 4-0 won-lost record, while the best player was Katia Coello of Centrales, who had a .483 batting average.

The final finish for the women’s tournament was:  Gold – Venezuela, Silver – Orientales, and Bronze – Centrales.

With the participation of the two teams from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic’s men’s team, the softball competition of the IV Olympic Cuban Sports wrapped up with excellent quality and it was beneficial for the training of the Cubans who claim to return with strength to the softball regional events in both disciplines.