PENALVER, Cuba — It was Baseball 1, Politics 0 in Cuba on Friday.

A squad of 11- and 12-year-old boys from the Twin State Peregrines of Vermont and New Hampshire faced off against a local Cuban team, the Santos, on a makeshift diamond just east of Havana, wrapping up a nine-day visit to the island that was more about sports than international relations.

"They're just kids," said Peregrines manager Ted Levin, a 59-year-old nature writer from Thetford, Vt. "Communism, capitalism, it means nothing to these children."

"We need games like this," echoed Santos manager Jorge Rey. "We forget we are friends if we don't have contact. Isolation doesn't work for anyone."

Just hours after Cuba edged the United States 5-4 in 11 innings in Beijing — a game that left the Americans carping about dirty play and Cuban pitchers throwing at batters' heads — the Peregrines prevailed 3-1 on the grounds of a convent.

The U.S. little leaguers scored all their runs in a first inning that saw two doubles, one of which flew into a pair of stubby mango trees obstructing center field. The Cubans, ages 12 to 14, managed just two hits but drew nine walks during the six-inning contest.

Exhaustion may have been a factor, since most of the Santos players joined millions of baseball-mad Cubans in staying up until the wee hours to watch the Olympic matchup. The Peregrines said they were all asleep long before the last out in China.

"Baseball is Cuba's favorite thing," said 12-year-old third baseman Onelkis Lopez. "Of course everyone watches, no matter the time."

Washington's trade embargo prohibits U.S. tourists from coming to the communist-run island, but youth baseball teams used to visit frequently as part of cultural exchange programs until the Bush administration tightened travel restrictions.

Levin said it took nearly two years to secure permission from the U.S. Treasury Department. The 14 players and six coaches raised money to cover much of their expenses and to furnish Santos and another team with balls, batting gloves, sunglasses, used catching equipment and other gear.

With Friday's victory, the Peregrines earned a split of their four games against Santos — but they said the scoreboard wasn't what mattered.

"I don't think it's about winning, it's about playing and being with other kids," said 12-year-old first baseman Nathaniel Eastman of Fairlee, Vt., who greeted each Cuban base-runner with a grin and a handshake Friday.