World Cup of Baseball 2009: Championship Story

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The Cubans opened the door, and the Americans charged right through.

Team USA took advantage of a critical error by Cuba with two outs in the seventh inning Sunday on its way to a 10-5 win in the gold medal game of the World Cup in Nettuno, Italy.

After the Cubans rallied back to tie the game at 4 with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, the Americans had two on and two out in the seventh when an error by Cuba first baseman Ariel Borrero allowed the U.S. to score the go-ahead run. From there, the Americans came through with one clutch hit after another on their way to a six-run frame that assured them of a second consecutive World Cup title against the powerhouse Cubans.

Jutin Smoak and John Weber hit back-to-back RBI singles to knock legendary Cuban reliever Pedro Lazo out of the game. Terry Tiffee, Josh Kroeger and Lucas May continued the onslaught with three straight RBI hits. In all, 11 batters came to the plate, and the Cubans needed four pitchers to get through the frame.

Smoak, a Clinton LumberKing for 14 games in 2008, was named MVP of the tournament after he hit nine homers and drove in 22 runs.