IBIÚNA, Brazil – Former Nicholls State University baseball standout Christian Correa has been added to the Colombian national team roster for the 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier.

The event, sanctioned by WBSC World Cup regulations, will be played from Jan. 29-Feb. 3 to determine the final four spots in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

The eight nations participating include hosts Brazil – No. 17 in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings, No. 6 Mexico, No. 12 Dominican Republic and No. 15 Nicaragua in Group A and No. 9 Venezuela, No. 10 Canada, No. 13 Panama and No. 14 Colombia in Group B. The top two of each group will earn spots in the XVIII Pan American Games.  

The Pan Am Games are scheduled to begin on July 26. The baseball tournament will open on July 27 and the gold medal game is scheduled for Aug. 4.

Four national teams have already qualified for the Pan Am Games: hosts Peru, Argentina (winner of the South American Games), Puerto Rico (winner of the Central American and Caribbean Games) and Cuba (runner up of the Central American and Caribbean Games).

Correa was a catcher for the Colonels in 2014 and 2015. Signed by the Houston Astros in 2015, he has since played for eight minor league teams. Most recently, Correa hit .323 and threw out 67 percent of base stealers with the Los Caimanes de Barranquilla in the Brazilian professional winter baseball league.

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