WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup Day 4: Tan fires 17 strikeouts, Japan, Australia secure top spots, NZ also through to Super Round
Four teams - Argentina, Canada, Singapore and the Czech Republic - are in contention for two Super Round spots in Group A and two teams - Guatemala and Mexico - will chase the remaining ticket in Group B.
The 2018 champs Australia and world No. 1 Japan cemented their places on top of Group A and B, respectively, with one day still to play in the Opening Round, while hosts New Zealand also confirmed a place in the Super Round as Day 4 of the U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup closed in Palmerston North, New Zealand on Tuesday.
With the top three teams advancing to the Super Round, Australia, Japan and New Zealand all guaranteed themselves a spot after winning on Tuesday, while the race for the remaining two tickets in Group A and one spot in Group B will go down to the wire on Wednesday.
While Australia made quick work of Canada (14-3), it was a different story for Japan, who was given a hard time by Mexico (4-3) after three dominant wins at the start of the tournament.
Riley James reached the plate three times in Australia’s win to lead the tournament with seven runs.
Meanwhile, two teams treated Palmerston North to extended meetings as Singapore and Argentina narrowly escaped South Africa and Czech Republic, respectively.
Singapore pitcher Mathew Tan surpassed the tournament single-match strikeout record - one day after the Czech Republic's Jakub Osičk set 14 against Canada and repeated it again on Tuesday against Argentina - when he led his squad to victory (9-8) with 17 of his own against South Africa. The win keeps Singapore in the race for a Super Round spot with their 2:2 win:loss record putting them in a four-way tie in second in Group A with Argentina, Canada and the Czech Republic with a game to play in the Opening Round.
Nahuel Saenz also starred in Argentina’s win (4-3) against the Czech Republic with a homer to cap off a 15-strikeout performance, bettering another superb pitching display from Osičk, who claimed 14 strikeouts for the second day in a row.
The last remaining Super Round spot in Group B will be contested in the match up between Guatemala and Mexico after New Zealand moved into outright second in the pool after a come-from-behind victory against Guatemala (8-7) off four RBIs from Te Kirika Cooper-Nicola. Guatemala led by as much as three runs before the Kiwis mounted an impressive comeback to seal their third victory.
Meanwhile, William Ponce and Ian Winterhalder combined for five runs to give the United States their first victory in the tournament, beating Denmark (7-3) in the first game of the day.
Wednesday will see Argentina play Canada and the Czech Republic take on Singapore with all four teams in contention for the two remaining Super Round spots in Group A. Make sure you watch all the action here.
