It has been 15 years since Venezuela last won the Caribbean series. Last Friday, the Tiburones de la Guaira defeated the Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Republic 3-0 in Miami, USA. 

The Venezuelans celebrated their victory in front of a sell-out crowd at LoanDepot Park, which set a new record for attendance in the history of the tournament with 36,677 spectators. It was a magnificent setting in which to watch Venezuela lift yet another title.

The Tiburones' first Caribbean title was also a measure of national revenge for the Leones del Caracas. They had lost to the Tigres del Licey in last year's final in the Venezuelan capital. It was a bitter pill for the Venezuelan fans to swallow, but this time they were rewarded with an ecstatic triumph in Miami.

A run from Odúbel Herrera in the fourth inning and a triple from Hernán Pérez in the fifth gave Venezuela victory over a Tigres side who, according to AFP, had relinquished the crown because of their lack of attacking bite. There was no repeat of last year's triumph.

Led by World Series-winning coach Oswaldo Guillén, the Tiburones completed their second successive triumph after being crowned champions of Venezuelan baseball in January for the first time since the 1985-1986 season. The Tiburones are off to a flying start in 2024.

This time, it was the Tiburones who represented the South American nation. They were crowned champions for the first time, giving Venezuela their eighth title. 

The crowd at LoanDepot Park, the first Major League stadium to host the Caribbean Series, surpassed the previous record for the competition, set by the 35,972 fans who attended Tigres' Saturday match against Puerto Rico's Criollos de Caguas.

Panama's Federales de Chiriquí completed the podium after beating the Curazao Suns 5-4 in the third-place match on Friday afternoon.

The final by innings:

Team:                            1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E

Dominican Republic:  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0

Venezuela:                   0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 X 3 9 0