San Diego Padres owners José E. Feliciano, a Puerto Rican investor, and his wife Kwanza Jones visited Puerto Rico’s U-18 national baseball team on Friday at the Pan American U-18 Championship in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation reported. At the IPL Academy complex, they watched the team, greeted players, spoke with coaches and delegation staff, and posed for photos.
If God wills it, someday we'll see you at Petco Park
Feliciano, wearing a PR cap, said he was very excited to see Puerto Rico having already won two games, and told players, "If God wills it, someday we’ll see you at Petco Park," referring to the Padres’ major league stadium. On the field, Puerto Rico split Friday’s games to move to 2-1, tied with Panama for first place in Group C. It resumed its suspended game against Canada, halted by darkness in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday, and won 5-2: Dariel Carrión drove in two runs and Saúl Maldonado earned the win with 6 2/3 innings of two-hit, two-run pitching, one unearned.
Puerto Rico then lost 4-2 to Panama, whose decisive two runs came in the sixth; Valentín Carrasquillo and Fabián Rodríguez scored, and Jaim Ferreira took the loss against Panama’s winner César Berríos. Puerto Rico closes the first round against Canada on Saturday at noon, with the top two teams advancing. The tournament gathers 11 teams and awards four berths to the 2027 U-18 World Cup in China.