Tien-Mou/Taipei City. Japan has won the bronze medal at the II 12U Baseball World Cup. In the game for third place on Sunday morning at Tien-Mou Stadium in Taipei City they defeated Venezuela 8-2. Five runs in the bottom of the third decided the outcome early. Venezuela has to settle for fourth place in the final standings.

While Venezuela had the better start into the Bronze Medal Game, Japan came out winning in the end. Ricardo van Grieken and Sander Mora scored in the top of the first to give the South Americans a quick 2-0 lead. Japan countered in the second when Taiyo Ueda crossed the plate on a dropped fly ball at short.

One frame later they took control of the match. A sac fly by Tomoharu Moriya tied the game. Singles by Shota Sawamura, Hidemasa Takamizu and Koyo Mizushima put Japan in front 6-2. A wild pitch and another RBI single by Sawamura added a pair of insurance runs in the fourth.

Sawamura not only went 2-for-3 with two RBI at the plate, but also allowed just three hits and two runs and a walk in five innings on the mound. Mutsuya Suzuki closed it out in the sixth. Humberto Merentes surrendered two hits, five runs (4 ER) and three walks in 2 2/3 innings to take the loss.

Venezuela had finished in third place at the 2011 12U Baseball World Cup, Japan fifth.