Japan announce roster for Baseball5 World Cup

World No. 5 Japan announced their roster for the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024.
Head coach Kenta Wakamatsu selected Ayano Kazuta, Shun Mikami, Harutomo Tsuji, Takuya Shima, Meiko Karaki, Kaichi Motoike, Ayako Rokkaku.

Four out of eight players (Kazuta, Mikami, Shima, Rokkaku) helped Japan win a silver medal in the Baseball5 World Cup maiden edition in 2022.

Mizuki Nakahama will assist Wakamatsu.

Samurai Japan introduced the team to the local press during a press conference.

Japan will play to win, but Cuba looks the favourite said head coach Kenta Wakamatsu. "[In 2022] their strength was 10 times higher than ours," he admitted. "In particular, I was impressed by their speed."

The coach believes things may differ in 2024: "Every player improved a lot. We are a different team."

"We've come to a point where we can beat Cuba," added Ayako Rokkaku, a former Women's Baseball World Cup MVP and a WBSC Athletes Commission Member. "Cuba has some rough spots, so I want to play solid Baseball5,"

Wakamatsu also said the team shouldn't focus on Cuba too much: "There won't be easy games. We need unity and determination to win every game."

The WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024 will open on Monday, October 7, in Hong Kong, China. The 12 participating teams will split into two groups to open the tournament.

Japan will compete in Group B and face No. 4 France, No. 3 Tunisia, No. 7 Mexico, No. 9 China, and No. 39 Australia.

Group A includes World No. 1 Chinese Taipei, No. 2 and defending champions Cuba, No. 17 Hong Kong-China, No. 13 Venezuela, No. 6 South Africa and No. 10 Lithuania.

The 30-game Opening Round will be wrapped up on 9 October, but not before defending champions Cuba and bronze medallists Chinese Taipei go head-to-head in the penultimate game of the group stage.

The Super Round, taking place on 10 and 11 October, will determine the top two teams competing for the Baseball5 World Championship title on 12 October at 15:00 (local time). Before the final, the third and fourth-placed teams will compete for the bronze medal and the final podium spot.