Albert Pujols discusses Dominican Republic's elimination: I won't dwell on the final pitch.

This seemed like a team meeting destiny: Thirteen years following their only World Baseball Classic title, the Dominican Republic squad crushed through their initial five matches, overpowering every adversary. They topped this edition in homers, scoring, and pitching ERA. All signs pointed toward this powerhouse team successfully overcoming the strong U.S. squad today.

But in the bottom of the ninth inning of the semifinal, with the tying run on third, when U.S. closer Mason Miller took the mound, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo was called out on a third-strike swing and miss, ending the game. The pitch seemed low, yet for Dominican manager Albert Pujols, it wasn't crucial: the game wasn't lost because of that one strike call.

"I don't want to fixate on the last pitch… I won't criticize that," Pujols stated after the 1-2 loss to the United States. "This wasn't meant to be our fate."

Pujols' words hold merit. After Junior Caminero's second-inning homer pushed the team's tournament total to 15, the Dominican lineup largely fell silent. In the final three innings, while chasing the game, their superstar hitters appeared overeager, swinging for power, yet striking out six times in those last three frames—compared to just two strikeouts in the first six innings.

The team also failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position, batting 2-for-9 and leaving eight runners stranded. This included catcher Austin Wells, who after Perdomo's line-drive single to left-center in the seventh, couldn't score from third and was ultimately left on base.

Post-game, questions arose about not pinch-running for Wells—perhaps using faster runner Oneil Cruz, who later pinch-hit for this Yankees catcher in the ninth. Pujols indicated that at that critical moment, he wasn't ready to lose his starting catcher. The Dominican roster had only one other catcher, 24-year-old Agustín Ramírez, with no real contingency plan beyond that.

Regardless of decisions, a team scoring only one run rarely wins. Dominican pitchers performed admirably, limiting the U.S. to just two solo homers by Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony—Julio Rodríguez's spectacular catch robbing Aaron Judge's sure home run played a key role.

Now, the Dominican Republic team departs this Classic with profound regret. The United States will face the winner of Venezuela versus Italy tomorrow for the championship.