The owners of the San Diego Padres in the Major Leagues, the Puerto Rican investor José E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones, were present on Friday at the Pan American Under-18 Championship in the Dominican Republic and spent time with the members of the Puerto Rican team participating in the qualifying tournament for the 2027 World Cup, according to the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation.

Feliciano and Jones arrived at the IPL Academy complex in Boca Chica, where they watched the Puerto Rican team in action and had the opportunity to greet the players, talk with members of the coaching staff, and spend time with the delegation’s administrative staff.

“I’m really happy, excited—very excited—to be here in the Dominican Republic watching the Puerto Rican team. They’ve already won two games, and I’m very excited to be here,” Feliciano said during his visit, wearing a cap with the initials “PR”, for Puerto Rico.

At the end of the game, both owners posed for a photo with the Puerto Rican players and coaching staff. During one of his conversations with a group of players, Feliciano also shared a message with them about the future of their careers.

“God willing, we’ll see you at Petco Park someday,” he told them, referring to the Padres’ Major League Baseball stadium.

Puerto Rico split its games on Friday in the second round of the U-18 Pan American Championship, bringing its record to 2-1 and tying for first place in Group C with Panama.

Early in the day, the Puerto Ricans played their postponed game from Thursday against Canada and came away with a 5-2 victory.

The game had been suspended due to darkness in the bottom of the fifth inning and was rescheduled for Friday. When play resumed, the Puerto Rican team held on to its lead through the seventh inning.

Dariel Carrión led the offense with two RBIs, while Saúl Maldonado earned the win after pitching six and two-thirds innings. The pitcher allowed just two hits and two runs, one of which was unearned.

In the second game of the day, Puerto Rico suffered its first loss of the tournament, falling 4-2 to Panama.

The Panamanians scored two decisive runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take definitive control of the game.

Puerto Rico had scored its first run in the top of the first inning, when Valentín Carrasquillo took advantage of a wild pitch to reach home plate. The second run came on a fielder’s choice off a hit by Nelson Molina, which allowed Fabián Rodríguez to score.

Jaim Ferreira took the loss for Puerto Rico, while César Berríos earned the win for Panama.

With Friday’s results, Puerto Rico has a 2-1 record and is tied with Panama for first place in Group C. Canada is 0-2.

The Puerto Ricans will close out the first round this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. against Canada in a crucial game in their quest to secure a spot in the super round. The top two teams from Group C will advance to the next stage of the tournament.

The U-18 Pan American Championship brings together 11 national teams in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, and will award four spots for the 2027 U-18 World Cup in China.

---

This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.