10/09/2024 5 Minute Read

WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup: Nicaragua and Puerto Rico head to Super Round with clean records

The Super Round and Placement Rounds are set after Day 5 of group play and will begin on Thursday, September 12. China earned their first spot among the top six in a WBSC Baseball World Cup. Nicaragua stayed undefeated through the Opening Round

Day 5 of the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2024 Opening Round in Shaoxing, China made history on Tuesday. World No. 24 China beat No. 15 Australia in a morning game to earn a historic Super Round berth from Group A.

"The performance in the Opening Round has exceeded my expectations," commented Chinese manager Wei Li. "I liked our defence against Australia. It is our strength. Let me thank our pitching coach [Jian Zhang] for getting our starter [Wei Zhao] ready."

No. 10 Puerto Rico finished Group A in first place. Thanks to a seventh-inning rally, they defeated No. 11 Colombia and improved to a 4-1 record.

World No. 1 Japan finished second. They beat Great Britain in a regulation game and tied Puerto Rico at 4-1. The head-to-head made the difference in the standings.

No. 17 Nicaragua outscored No. 6 Korea for their fifth straight win, confirming them as the Group B first-place finishers. They will head to the Super Round undefeated.

No. 5 Venezuela finished second in Group B despite losing to Chinese Taipei in the last game of group play. Korea placed third.

The Super Round will open on Thursday, September 12, with the following standings: Nicaragua, Puerto Rico (2-0); Japan, Venezuela 1-1; China, Korea 0-2.

The Placement Round will also start on September 12 with the following standings: Australia and Netherlands 2-0; Colombia and Chinese Taipei 1-1; Great Britain and South Africa 0-2.

Tournament Links

Chinese Taipei-Venezuela 3-0

Chinese Taipei defeated Venezuela after a game that was delayed a couple of times by rain and affected by inclement weather in the latter half.

José Guzman started for Venezuela, while Chinese Taipei handed the ball to Yu Ting Lu.

Three Venezueland pitchers, José Guzman, Leonardo Lugo and Juan Romero combined four perfect innings.

Their lineup reached scoring position in the first, second and fourth against Chinese Taipei starter Yu Ting Lu but failed to finalize.

Angel Villegas walked Yu-Ching Tseng to lead off the fifth and give Chinese Taipei their first runner of the game. Chinese Taipei would score without the need on a run. Tseng advanced on a bunt, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.

The game was delayed by rain at the end of the at bat and resumed after 30 minutes.

Pin-Hong Chen took the mound for Chinese Taipei but left after a walk. Yu-Chieh Wang also struggled with control but got out of the inning on strikes. Venezuela stranded three runners.

Chinese Taipei added two runs on reliever Oswald Mori with back-to-back doubles by Bo-Rui Huang and Hsin Chiu.

Despite a defensive error, Wang got the three outs of the bottom of the seventh and earned the save.

GAME REPORT

Japan-Great Britain 4-1

Japan earned their fourth win in a regulation game against Great Britain. The game had a delayed start, was delayed for one hour and finally called after the top of the fifth.

Great Britain piched Jacob Lambdin as the starting pitcher, while Japan handed the ball to Oga Nishimura.

First baseman Ryo Imazato put Japan ahead when he homered to right field with Takuya Yamada at first in the bottom of the first.

Great Britain got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. James Quinn-irons led off with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Flaherty.

Japan added a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Shinnosuke Nishimura off reliever Samuel Hutchinson.

With Japanese runners at the corners and no outs in the top of the fifth, the game was delayed by rain.

The game resumed after a one-hour delay. Reliever Edward Taylor loaded the bases with a walk, struck out the following two batters, and walked in the fourth Japanese run before getting the third out.

Rain forced another delay that eventually would lead to call it a regulation game.

GAME REPORT

Puerto Rico-Colombia 3-2

Puerto Rico overcame Colombia with a seventh inning three-run rally, improving to 4-1 and clinching Group A first place.

Left-hander Omar Melendez took the mound for Puerto Rico while Colombia handed the ball to right-hander David Acevedo.

The starting pitchers dominated the first three innings. The two teams reached base a combined four times.

Colombia broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth when first baseman homered with two outs.

Daniel Figueroa helped Melendez get out of the inning with a leaping catch on Jorge Puerta's deep fly to the left.

Colombia added a run in the bottom of the fifth when reliever Carlos Roses hit Guillermo Quintana with the bases loaded.

Puerto Rico reversed the lead in the top of the seventh. A bases loaded two-RBI single by pinch hitter Osvaldo Torres off reliever Kevin Gomez tied the game. The go-ahead run scored on a sacrifice fly by Randal Diaz.

Colon retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh.

GAME REPORT

Netherlands-South Africa

The Netherlands got the win they needed to head to the Placement round with a 2-0 record. South Africa had a decent offensive outing, recording nine hits.

The Netherlands started Naut Kragt. South Africa handed the ball to Robert White.

The Netherlands got on the scoreboard in the first. Jackey Josefa singled, advanced on a defensive error and scored on an RBI single by Darryl Collins.

Jair Von Borkulo led off the bottom of the second with a single. He stole second and advanced to third on a flyout. He scored on Gedionne Marlin's two-out RBI single. Marlin headed home on back-to-back singles byRaydley Legito and Josepha.

The Netherlands added three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ruben Marnix led off bunting for the hit. Gedionne Marlin scored hin from first with a double and another run scored on Raydley Legito's RBI single. Hoffman allowed the third run on a pair of walks.

South Africa scored two runs in the top of the fifth on a two-RBI single by Luke November off reliever Koen Van'T Klooster.

The Netherlands added three runs in the fifth on Josepha's three-RBI double and one in the sixth on an error. It was not enough to end the game by the run-difference rule.

GAME REPORT

Nicaragua-Korea 7-1

Nicaragua outscored Korea, earning their fifth consecutive win and advancing to the Super Round undefeated.

Right-hander Hyung-Won Lim started for Korea. Nicaragua handed the ball to right-hander Stanling Orozco.

Nicaragua was quick to get ahead. Odlanyer Matamoros and Edmerson Castro reached on one-out singles and advanced on a walk. Emanuel Trujillo singled on the first pitch he saw and gave Nicaragua a 2-0 lead.

Nicaragua added a run in the top of the second. Lim left with a runner on base, and Matamoros delivered an RBI double off reliever Wonpyo Hong to extend the lead to 2-0.

Lim led off the second allowing a walk and left for Wonpyo Hong. The right-hander allowed the second run on an RBI double by Matamoros.

Nicaragua made it 4-0 in the top of the fourth. Hong left for Jaeyoung Song with runners at second and first. Nicaragua moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt and the run scored on Edmerson Castro's RBI single.

Korea got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the frame. Hojung Song led off with a double and touched third on a groundout. He scored on Sangwoo Lim's sacrifice fly to centre field.

Nicaragua made it 5-1 in the top of the sixth. Darren Britton led off with a single, stole second and scored on Junior Ortega's RBI single.

Hyunseok Choi took the mound for Korea, and Nicaragua added another run on an RBI single by Godwin Bemmett. Choi got Emanuel Trujillo to ground into a force-out, but pinch hitter Derek Loasiga scored the seventh run from third. Baeksan Kim came out of the bullpen to end the at-bat.

GAME REPORT

China-Australia 4-1

China played consistent baseball behind phenomenal starter Wei Zhao and defeated Australia to earn their first-ever Super Round appearance in a WBSC Baseball World Cup.

Left-hander Wei Zhao took the mound for China. Australia handed the ball to right-hander Ky Jackson.

It took Australia two pitches to take the lead in the top of the second. Ky Jackson turned the first pitch he saw into a one-out triple. Zakary Skinner singled on the following pitch to make it 1-0.

It took China one pitch to tie the game in the bottom of the second. Shortstop Yi Zhou homered along the right-field line on Jackson's first offering.

Shuai Wang gave China the lead in the bottom of the fifth when he grounded out to Stevens. The third baseman's diving stop prevented more damage.

China added two runs on reliever William Sheriff on a passed ball and a squeeze play perfectly executed by centre fielder Xudong Zhu.

Left-hander Xiang Wang took care of the final three outs.