WBSC Olympic qualifying event at Clover Park May 31-June 5

The Road to Tokyo goes through St. Lucie County starting Memorial Day

Media Contact: Jason Hendrix, 678-367-5179 or [email protected]

Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism contact: Ryan Strickland, 772-380-6221 or [email protected]

WHO: World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism

WHAT: WBSC Baseball Americas Qualification Event for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020

WHEN: Monday, May 31-Saturday, June 5, 2021

WHERE: Clover Park, 31 Piazza Dr., Port St. Lucie, Fla. 34986

TEAMS: #2 United States, #8 Cuba, #9 Venezuela, #10 Dominican Republic, #11 Puerto Rico, #13 Canada, #14 Colombia, and #15 Nicaragua

TICKETS AND MORE INFO: https://oaqbaseball.com/

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. – The Road to Tokyo goes through St. Lucie County as the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier, hosted by USA Baseball, will see eight participating National Teams battle for one spot in the six-team Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball tournament at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, starting Memorial Day.

“We are really excited about this opportunity, hosting the Baseball Americas Olympics Qualifier for the World Baseball Softball Confederation in Port St. Lucie,” said Rick Hatcher, President/CEO of Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism. “Knowing the exposure this event brings to St. Lucie County and being able to showcase the $58 million renovation to Clover Park, the Spring Training home for the New York Mets, is a home run for the Treasure Coast region.”

“The teams and the entire baseball world are all looking forward to this exciting moment to arrive on the road to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.

Baseball Americas Qualifier for the XXXII Olympiad is one out of four Olympic baseball qualifying events and the only one taking place in the United States.

The competing participants will be split into two groups to start the qualifier:

· Group A: #2 USA, #10 Dominican Republic, #11 Puerto Rico, and #15 Nicaragua

· Group B: #8 Cuba, #9 Venezuela, #13 Canada, and #14 Colombia

Game Schedule at Clover Park

• Game 1: Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic, May 31 at 1:00 p.m.
• Game 3: USA vs. Nicaragua, May 31 at 7:00 p.m.
• Game 5: Colombia vs. Venezuela, June 1 at 1:00 p.m.
• Game 7: Canada vs. Cuba, June 1 at 7:00 p.m.
• Game 9: Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic, June 2 at 1:00 p.m.
• Game 11: Puerto Rico vs. USA, June 2 at 7:00 p.m.
• Game 15: Group A2 vs. Group B2, June 5 at 1:00 p.m.
• Game 16: Group A1 vs. Group B1, June 5 at 7:00 p.m.

After group play concludes on Wednesday, June 2, the top two finishers from each group will advance to the Super Round, where they will each play two games. Head-to-head contests among these teams from the opening round will carry over into the Super Round standings.

The team with the best Super Round record will be declared the winner and become the fifth National Team to advance to the Tokyo Olympic baseball tournament, joining world #1 Japan, #3 Korea, #5 Mexico and #18 Israel, who have already punched their ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Games.

The second and third place teams will qualify for the WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier, scheduled from June 16-20 in Taiwan at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium and Douliou Baseball Stadium in Douliu City.

The other participating teams at the WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier are #4 Chinese Taipei, #6 Australia, #9 Netherlands, and #22 China.

Tickets for the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier for Tokyo can be purchased by visiting https://oaqbaseball.com.

Local media who wish to cover the event must apply through the official WBSC Media Accreditation online platform at my.wbsc.org. The deadline to apply is Sunday, May 23. Media interviews during the WBSC Americas Olympic baseball qualifier will be conducted via online means only. Due to Covid-19 safety precautions, there will be no direct contact between media and team personal inside the venue.

About Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism

Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism (formerly Treasure Coast Sports Commission) offers event owners and managers access to outstanding sport facilities, special pricing on hotels from our partners and grants to help fund your event. Located on the East Central Coast of Florida comprising Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties, the Treasure Coast is 45 minutes north of the Palm Beaches and the West Palm Beach International Airport, 90 minutes north of Ft. Lauderdale, 120 minutes north of Miami, and 120 minutes south of Orlando. Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism is the official home of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, located at the MIDFLORIDA Event Center in Port St. Lucie. For more information, visit https://www.playtreasurecoastflorida.com/.