Cuba became the first team to earn a spot in the World Baseball Classic semifinals with a 4-3 win over Australia on Wednesday.Veteran international star Alfredo Despaigne broke a 1-1 fifth-inning tie against the Pool B runner-up with a sacrifice fly before 35,061 at Tokyo Dome, and Cuba held on to its lead to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2006.Yoelkis Guibert's two-run single completed the three-run fifth, allowing the Cubans to survive Rixon Wingrove's two-run sixth-inning homer with the lead.Cuba's Japan-based bullpen stars took over in the eighth. SoftBank Hawks left…READ FULL ARTICLE
