U23 Baseball 2026 schedule: Panamá Oeste and Chiriquí Occidente set for unprecedented final

Panamá Oeste and Chiriquí Occidente are preparing for a final that will produce a first-time national U23 baseball champion. Neither team has previously reached this stage of the competition.

The finalists took sharply different routes to the series. Chiriquí Occidente stayed near the top of the standings during the regular season, finishing the preliminary round with 10 wins and four losses. It then swept Coclé in the semifinals, winning 10-1 in the opener and 5-0 in the second game.

Panamá Oeste had a more difficult regular season. The team finished fourth with five wins and eight losses, but overcame Panamá Metro in two tightly contested semifinal games. It won the first 2-1, then secured the second 4-3 in 11 innings.

The final will use a best-of-five format. According to the schedule announced by the Panamanian Baseball Federation, the opening two games will take place on Sept. 1 and 2 at Kenny Serracín Stadium in David, where Chiriquí Occidente will be the home team.

The series will then move to the Mariano Rivera Academy in La Chorrera. Panamá Oeste is scheduled to host Games 3 and 4, if required, while Chiriquí Occidente will be the home team for a deciding fifth game. All games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.