Colón dominated Herrera with solid pitching and timely offense to secure his fifth consecutive semifinal in major baseball.
The ninth of Colon joined Bocas del Toro in the semifinal round of the National Senior Baseball Championship after winning by shutout 6-0 to Herrera at the Claudio Nieto stadium. With the victory, Columbus achieved his fifth consecutive semi-final and is one step away from playing his third final in four years.
The colonense offense warned early, hitting two singles at the top of the second inning, but failing to score a score. In the next episode, at the top of the third, the colonenses managed to open the scoring.
With two outs on the board, Jhadiel Santamaría He hit a home run to left field to score his team’s first run.
The second run came in the top of the fifth inning, the product of solid collective work on offense. With one out, Kevin Velasquez He started the action with a single to left field, followed by another to right field by Omar Ortega. The fourth batter, Anmi Ortegaconnected with another hit—also to the right—that drove in the run scored by Velásquez, extending the lead to 2-0.
The colonenses sealed the confrontation and the series with a four-run rally at the top of the sixth inning. Jorge Bishop and Jason Patterson They started the attack with a single each, placing men in the corners.
An error after a ground ball to shortstop by Velásquez brought home the third run and left runners on first and second. Then, Omar Ortega He hit a ground ball to second base that put out Velasquez in his attempt to advance, but kept men in the corners.
Amir Ortega He received a walk and, with the bases loaded, the turn that defined the game arrived, again with Santamaria as protagonist. The outfielder hit a double to right that cleared the bases, driving in three runs and putting the game out of Herrera’s reach.
The rest of the match went smoothly, thanks to the solid work of the pitchers. Julio Denis and Carlos Rodriguez. Denis worked five complete innings, allowed five hits and struck out three without walking.
Rodríguez pitched four perfect innings, allowing no hits or walks, and retired nine opposing batters by striking out.
On offense, Santamaria led the attack by batting 2-4with home run, double and four runs towed.
Everything is defined tonight
Colón and Bocas del Toro have already secured their places in the semifinals of the 2026 National Senior Baseball Championship.
Tonight the last two spots will be defined with two decisive all-or-nothing games in the remaining series, under the following schedule:
• Chiriqui vs. Veraguas – 7:00 pm – Kenny Serracín Stadium
• Panama West vs. Darien – 7:00 pm – Mariano Rivera Stadium
