WBSC Men's Softball World Cup 2024 Group C - Day 1: Segura pitches gem as Guatemala beat South Africa; Japan defeat Netherlands in six; USA's Diaz shuts out Colombia
The top three ranked teams in the group - world No. 4 Japan, No. 7 USA, and No. 13 Guatemala - opened the tournament with shut out wins against No. 19 Netherlands, No. 17 Colombia, and No. 18 South Africa, respectively.
Group C action at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup started Tuesday at OCE Energy Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, USA, with three thrilling games. Guatemala opened the day with a 4-0 win over South Africa, followed by Japan's six-inning, 9-0 victory against the Netherlands. In the final matchup, USA secured a 3-0 win over Colombia.
- Two tickets on offer to the Finals 2025, which will be played in Prince Albert, Canada in July next year
- Group C in Oklahoma, USA, completes the group stage of the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup 2024/2025
- World No. 4 Japan, No. 7 USA, No. 13 Guatemala, No. 17 Colombia, No. 18 South Africa and No. 19 Netherlands go head to head in Group C at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park.
- Group A, was played in Hermosillo, Mexico, from 12 to 16 June with Dominican Republic and Australia earning a ticket to the Finals.
- Group B was hosted in Prince Albert, Canada, from 10 to 14 July; with No. 1 Argentina and No. 10 New Zealand advancing to the Finals. No. 3 Canada secured a wild card
- Group C features two former medallists - five-time World Champions USA, and three-time medallists Japan (two silvers, one bronze)
The WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Group C started with a matchup between Guatemala, a team with only one appearance in the World Cup, and South Africa, a veteran nation with 11 participations in the competition.
Guatemala defeated South Africa 4-0, powered by a stellar complete-game shutout from Jorge Segura, who struck out 16 while allowing just one hit and three walks. Fabian Vizcaino, who scored three of Guatemala's four runs, and Manuel Hernandez each homered for the Central American side.
With his standout performance, Guatemala’s Jorge Segura was named Player of the Day.
You can read the full match report here and see the boxscore and the play by play of the game here.
This marked Guatemala's first Men's Softball World Cup victory in nine years. Their last win came on 3 July 2015 in Saskatoon, Canada, with a 3-1 triumph over Denmark. Segura also pitched that game, going the distance with 13 strikeouts. Gerardo Dacaret, Luis Villeda, Alvaro Dacaret, Pedro Dieguez, and Alex Funes had featured in both games as well.
In the second game of the day, top-ranked Japan faced the Netherlands, the lowest-ranked team in the group. The two teams had last met in the Men’s Softball World Cup on 2 July 2015, also in Saskatoon, where Japan claimed a 9-1 victory in five innings.
Japan homered three times in the game, including a three-run walk-off homer by Tei Hamamoto, to secure their first tournament win, 9-0 over the Netherlands. Kotaro Yasumi and Kiki Sato also went deep for the Asian side.
Shota Onodera and Yutaro Inoue combined to strike out 10 Netherlands batters, allowing just three hits. Onodera was credited with the win.
This victory marked Japan's fourth consecutive World Cup win. Their previous three victories came during the Placement Round of the 2022 World Cup, against the Philippines (8-3), New Zealand (7-4), and Czechia (5-4). Their last loss occurred on 30 November 2022 against Canada, in the final game of the Opening Round.
You can see the boxscore and play by play here. Read the full game report here.
To close the day, Colombia faced the USA in their first-ever matchup in a Men's Softball World Cup. The two teams had last met officially during the 2022 Pan American Championship in Paraná, Argentina, where the USA claimed a 14-7 victory.
USA pitcher Marco Diaz was nearly untouchable, striking out 16 batters while allowing just two hits and three walks, leading his team to a 3-0 win over Colombia. The USA scored one run in the second, third, and fourth innings, which proved more than enough with Diaz on the circle.
Jonathan Lynch had a strong performance at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Erick Ochoa and Jeffrey Lewis contributed the other two hits for the USA.
This win marked the USA's third consecutive victory in the Men's Softball World Cup. Their last loss was on 2 December 2022, when they fell to Australia 12-9 in the Super Round of the previous World Cup. Australia went on to win the World Title two days later.
You can read the full match report here; and can check the boxscore and the play by play of the game here.
After the first day of competition, Guatemala, Japan, and the USA lead the group with 1-0 records, while Colombia, the Netherlands, and South Africa sit at 0-1.
Group C action continues on Wednesday with four games. Both South Africa and the USA will have doubleheaders tomorrow. Japan faces South Africa at 10:00 local time, followed by South Africa’s matchup against Colombia at 13:00. The USA will take the field at 16:00 to play Guatemala, and then close the day at 19:00 against the Netherlands.
The Men's Softball World Cup Group Stage wraps up in Oklahoma City.
Eighteen teams were divided into three groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Finals, set for 2025 in Prince Albert, Canada.
Each group features a four-day, 15-game round robin. The top four teams will move on to the play-offs on the final day, where the top two teams will face off for a direct ticket to the Finals. The loser of the first play-off game will then play the winner of the match between third and fourth place for the second Finals spot.
Group A took place in Hermosillo, Mexico, from 12 to 16 June, with the Dominican Republic and Australia earning spots in the Finals.
Group B was held in Prince Albert, Canada, from 10 to 14 July, where No. 1 Argentina and No. 10 New Zealand advanced to the Finals. No. 3 Canada secured a wild card.
