26/07/2024 7 Minute Read

WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group A - Day 4: Chinese Taipei sweep Opening Round; New Zealand clinch second place; Czechia, Great Britain complete Play-Offs cast

Chinese Taipei went undefeated to claim first place in the Opening Round and will face New Zealand on Saturday with a ticket to the Finals 2025 at stake. New Zealand and Czechia both finished with a 3-2 record, but the Junior White Sox prevailed in their head-to-head matchup. Czechia and fourth-place Great Britain will meet on Saturday in an elimination game.

Chinese Taipei went on an undefeated run with a 6-2 win over Czechia, claiming first place in the in the Opening Round of the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group A at Estádio Municipal de Beisebol Mie Nishi on Friday.

Czechia then recovered to win 5-1 over hosts Brazil, improving their record 3-2, but New Zealand's two successful outings against Great Britain 13-11 and Colombia 11-9 on Friday tied Czechia's 3-2 record and secured second place in the standings ahead of Saturday's Play-Offs .

On Saturday, Chinese Taipei will face New Zealand at 16:00 with a ticket to the Finals 2025 at stake. Czechia and Great Britain will meet at 13:00 in an elimination game, with the winner advancing to the Repechage, where they will face the loser of the Chinese Taipei and New Zealand game.

Colombia and Brazil will play Saturday's opening game at 10:00 for fifth place in Group A.

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New Zealand's third baseman Penny Starr had a great performance today and was named the Player of the Day. She went 6-for-9 in two games, with five RBIs, two runs and a walk. He drove-in New Zealand's game winning runs against Colombia in the top of the seventh to secure the second place in the standings.

Chinese Taipei completed the sweep in the Opening Round with a 6-2 victory against Czechia, securing first place in the standings. The team will play in the final on Saturday at 16:00 and have a double chance to punch their ticket to next year's Finals.

The bottom of the fifth inning was the turning point in the game. Four defensive errors by the European champions allowed Chinese Taipei to score five runs, gaining a comfortable lead.

Chinese Taipei starter Yi-Ting Chou was the winning pitcher, giving up four hits in 5.1 innings while striking out four. Her ERA is now 0.51, making her the leader of the competition. Lucie Vecerova, the losing pitcher for Czechia, is second in ERA with 2.33. She tossed four innings, giving up four runs (two earned) and five hits, with five strikeouts.

Nikola Skardova struck out seven while allowing three hits and one run, leading Czechia to a key 5-1 win against Brazil and clinching a spot in the Play-Offs. Czechia closed the Opening Round with a 3-2 record and must wait for the last two games of the tournament on Saturday to determine their final position in the standings.

Kristyna El Ghannam had two RBIs, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Amalie Kalcevova and Karolina Berankova also had two hits each.

For Brazil, the losing pitcher was Maria Julia Pedroso, who allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk, with three strikeouts.

New Zealand won a roller-coaster game against Great Britain, 13-11. A late rally in the sixth inning propelled New Zealand to victory. Penny Starr went 4-for-5 with one RBI and one run, leading the New Zealand offence, which collected 13 hits in the game.

With the game at 8-7 to Great Britain, New Zealand mounted a four-run rally in the sixth to take a three-run lead. They never looked back. New Zealand tied the game with a grounder to second base by Siobhan Bolger. With two outs and bases loaded, pinch hitter Trinity Waiwiri-Toka hit a single down the left field line, misplayed by the left fielder Emma Smith allowing the Junior Black Sox to take an 11-8 lead.

New Zealand sent three pitchers to the circle, with Angela Harrison working 4.1 innings in relief, allowing four hits and three runs. She struck out three and earned the win.

In their next game, New Zealand secured an 11-9 comeback victory over Colombia to clinch their spot in the Play-Offs.

New Zealand took an early lead with Maysen Kurene-Iwikau's run-producing double in the first inning and a two-RBI single by Penny Starr in the second, making it 3-0. Colombia tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of defensive errors and a two-RBI single by Sophia Loreto.

New Zealand regained the lead at 7-3 by the fourth inning, but Colombia fought back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth and took the lead 9-7 in the fifth.

In the top of the seventh, down to their last out, New Zealand mounted a comeback. Clover Alapaki's single and a fielding error by Brooke Zuluaga tied the game. Penny Starr then drove in two more runs, giving New Zealand the final 11-9 advantage. Angela Harrison pitched 4.1 innings in relief, earning the win.

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New Zealand 11 - 9 Colombia - Boxscore

Top 7th - Down to the last out, New Zealand came from behind and retook the lead on the scoreboard. With two runners on, Clover Alapaki drove in the first run of the inning with a single, while a fielding error by centre fielder Brooke Zuluaga allowed the tying run. A pair of errors loaded the bases for Penny Starr, who drove in two runs to give New Zealand an 11-9 advantage.

Bottom 6th - With back-to-back extra-base hits by Jazmin Mejia and Sophia Loreto, Colombia added an insurance run. They now led 9-7.

Bottom 5th - Colombia came from behind and took the lead. After two quick outs, Jazmin Mejia hit a double and scored on a triple by Sophia Loreto. She then crossed the plate with the go-ahead run on a Sofia Villa single. Colombia led 8-7.

Bottom 4th - Colombia scored three on an Audrey Lum two-run single and an RBI single by Brooke Zuluaga. The game was now 7-6.

Top 4th - The Junior Black Sox added two more runs. Caitlin Henderson scored on a perfectly executed squeeze play, and then Kaiyah Ratu drove in Penny Starr with a single. New Zealand led 7-3.

Top 3rd - New Zealand opened the third inning with three consecutive hits and two runs: a triple by Kaiyah Ratu, an RBI single by Maysen Kurene-Iwikau, and a run-scoring double by Maiarangi Waipara. New Zealand took the lead again, 5-3.

Bottom 2nd - Colombia tied the game. The South Americans took advantage of two defensive errors to score their first run, and then Sophia Loreto drove in Sophia Sarni and Angelly Benitez to make it 3-3.

Top 2nd - Penny Starr extended the Junior White Sox lead with a two-RBI single to right field. The game was now 3-0.

Top 1st - Maysen Kurene-Iwikau put New Zealand in front with a run-producing double off the centre field wall. New Zealand took a 1-0 lead.

Preview - New Zealand and Colombia will close the Opening Round in the last game of the day. Colombia has been eliminated from the Play-Offs, while New Zealand is closing their doubleheader with this game. They have faced each other only once in the history of this competition, on 12 August 2015, in Oklahoma City. New Zealand defeated Colombia 7-0 in five innings.

2024 U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group A - Game 14 NZL vs GBR

New Zealand 13 - 8 Great Britain - Play by play

Top 7th - Clover Alapaki hit an RBI single and Penfield Starr scored on a grounder to second base. New Zealand extend their lead to 13-8.

Top 6th - New Zealand mount a late inning rally and take a three run lead. New Zealand loaded the bases and tied the game with a grounder to second base. With two outs, Siobhan Bolger walked before pinch hitter Trinity Waiwiri-Toka hit a single down the left field line, misplayed by the left fielder Emma Smith, allowing the Junior Black Sox take an 11-8 lead.

Top 4th - McKenzie Bailey-McDowell hit an RBI single to plate Angela Harrison. With the bases loaded Caitlin Henderson grounded to second base for the last out of the inning. the score is 8-7 for Great Britain.

Bottom 3rd - Mia Krieger hit a leadoff homer and ignited a six-run rally for Great Britain, including a double by Cara Edwards, a single by Kaitlyn Parisi, and a two-run single by Jenna Thompson. Great Britain came from behind to take an 8-6 lead.

Top 2nd - Kaiyah Ratu tripled with one out and scored on a double by Maysen Kurene-Iwikau. She then scored on an RBI single by Penfield Starr. The game was 6-2 for New Zealand.

Bottom 1st - Great Britain scored two in the bottom half of the inning. A throwing error and a walk set the table for a two-run single by Mia Krueger. The game was now 4-2.

Top 1st - New Zealand scored big in their first at bat. A single and back-to-back hit by pitches loaded the bases for Maiarangi Waipara, who hit a double off the centre field wall to plate two. A pair of bases-loaded hit by pitches scored two more runs for New Zealand, giving them a 4-0 lead.

Starting pitchers - Elena Clark-Wilson (GBR) - McKenzie Bailey-McDowell

Preview - New Zealand and Great Britain will collide today in a crucial game for the Play-Off race. A win for the Europeans will secure them a spot in the top four. New Zealand, facing a doubleheader today, will need to wait until the last game of the Opening Round to know their final position. Their last meeting in this event was in Oklahoma City, on 10 August 2015, with New Zealand triumphing 4-1.

Brazil 1 - 5 Czechia - Play by play

Bottom 4th - With the bases loaded (Karolina Berankova and Amalie Kalcevova with a pair of singles and Julie Houbova hit by a pitch), Kristyna El Ghannam hit a grounder to second base misplayed by the defence, scoring two more runs for Czechia. The game was now 5-1.

Bottom 3rd - Amalie Kalcevova singled to start the inning and advanced to third on a bunt and a long fly ball to left field. She then scored on a defensive error. Finally, Sara Rolfesova hit a double to make it 3-1.

Bottom 1st - After two quick outs, Czechia tied the game. A single by Kristyna El Ghannam kept the inning alive, and a run-scoring double by Iva Strakova made it 1-1.

Top 1st - Brazil struck first. A pair of defensive errors allowed the hosts to score the first run of the game. Amanda Handa reached first on an error by third baseman Tereza Koubova, moved to second on a bunt, and scored on a throwing error by shortstop Iva Strakova. The game was 1-0.

Starting pitchers - Nikola Skardova (CZE) - Maria Julia Pedroso (BRA)

Preview - The second game of the day will decide the fate of Brazil and Czechia in the tournament, with the winner of this game securing a spot in tomorrow's Play-Offs. They me for the las time in this competition on 15 August 2019 in Irvine, California, for the Placement Round of the competition. Czechia claimed the win over the South Americans 10-3 in six innings.

2024 U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group A - Game 13 BRA vs CZE

Czechia 2 - 6 Chinese Taipei - Boxscore

Top 7th - Emory Cheng took the ball for Chinese Taipei. She issued a walk and allowed a hit to open the inning. Yi-Ting Chou re-entered the game, but an infield hit and an error allowed the two Czech runners to score. Yu-Huan Ke retired the last two outs of the game.

Bottom 5th - Chinese Taipei sent nine batters to the box. Four errors and two hits allowed the Asians to score five runs. The game was now 6-0.

Bottom 3rd - Chinese Taipei took the lead. Wei-Chi Lin hit a lead-off triple. Lucie Vecerova struck out the next two batters, but then a wild pitch allowed Lin to score the first run of the game. Chinese Taipei was winning 1-0.

Starting pitchers - Lucie Vecerova (CZE) - Yi-Tin Chou (TPE)

Preview - Chinese Taipei aim to clinch the No. 1 spot in the standings and sweep the Opening Round. On the other hand, a win for Czechia will represent a very important step in their hopes to advance to the Play-Offs. The last time they faced each other was in Lima, on 10 December 2021. Chinese Taipei claimed a narrow 1-0 win over the European squad.