GREAT BAY--The 2026 Latin America and Caribbean Junior League Baseball Tournament reaches its decisive stage on Saturday, July 18, with Aruba and Nicaragua set to compete for the regional championship at the Erwin “Baco” Richardson Little League Stadium in St. Maarten.
The championship game is scheduled for 7:00pm, following the third-place matchup between Puerto Rico and Curaçao at 4:00pm. The tournament will conclude with an official closing ceremony at 10:00pm.
Aruba secured its place in the final with a 5-1 semifinal victory over Puerto Rico on Friday. Nicaragua followed with a 7-5 win over Curaçao, handing the previously unbeaten Curaçao team its first defeat of the tournament.
Curaçao had been the competition’s most dominant team during pool play, completing the opening round with a perfect 3-0 record. The team opened with an 11-4 victory over Argentina, shut out Puerto Rico 10-0 and defeated St. Martin 13-0. Across those three games, Curaçao scored 34 runs while allowing only four.
That unbeaten run ended in the semifinal, however, as Nicaragua produced the tournament’s biggest upset to date. The 7-5 result eliminated Curaçao from championship contention and sent Nicaragua into Saturday evening’s title game against Aruba.
Pool A led by dominant Curaçao team
Curaçao finished at the top of Pool A with three wins and no losses. Puerto Rico followed with a 2-1 record, earning the second semifinal position from the group.
Host team St. Martin finished 1-2 after defeating Argentina 16-5 but losing 10-8 to Puerto Rico and 13-0 to Curaçao. Argentina ended pool play without a victory at 0-3. The official tournament listing also records Peru at 1-0, although Peru did not feature in the published schedule of completed pool games.
Curaçao and Puerto Rico therefore advanced from Pool A, with Curaçao entering the semifinal as the group winner and Puerto Rico as runner-up.
Three-way battle in Pool B
Pool B was considerably tighter, with Aruba, Nicaragua and Panama all completing pool play with identical 3-1 records.
Aruba recorded victories over Panama, the United States Virgin Islands and Bonaire, with its only defeat coming in a narrow 1-0 loss to Nicaragua.
Nicaragua defeated Bonaire 5-4, Aruba 1-0 and the US Virgin Islands 7-0. Its only pool defeat came against Panama, which earned a close 2-1 victory.
Panama also finished 3-1 after defeating the US Virgin Islands, Bonaire and Nicaragua, but lost its opening game 7-3 to Aruba. Tournament tie-breaking procedures placed Aruba and Nicaragua in the two semifinal positions, leaving Panama outside the final four despite having the same overall record.
Bonaire finished Pool B at 1-3, while the US Virgin Islands ended the round at 0-4.
Saturday’s final games
Saturday’s action begins at 4:00pm with Puerto Rico facing Curaçao.
Both teams will be looking to close the tournament with a victory after falling short in Friday’s semifinals. Curaçao will seek to recover from its first loss, while Puerto Rico will attempt to reverse the result of its earlier 10-0 defeat to Curaçao.
The regional championship will then be decided at 7:00pm when Aruba faces Nicaragua.
The matchup is a rematch of their pool-stage contest, which Nicaragua won 1-0. That result suggests another closely contested game, although both teams have since demonstrated the ability to produce runs under the pressure of elimination play.
Aruba enters the final after limiting Puerto Rico to one run in the semifinal. Nicaragua arrives after becoming the first team to score enough against Curaçao to defeat the previously dominant Pool A winner.
The championship game will determine the tournament winner and the regional representative that advances along the Little League international pathway.
The closing ceremony at 10:00pm will bring an end to a week of regional competition featuring teams from across Latin America and the Caribbean, while also recognising the players, coaches, officials, volunteers and organisers who contributed to the tournament in St. Maarten.
