by Philipp Wuerfel
South Africa 0 – USA 25
The United States opened play on day three at the 15U Baseball World Cup in Sinaloa, Mexico with a 25-0 shutout over South Africa, improving to 3-0 in round-robin play. 13 runs in the top of the fourth blew the score wide open. 16 different players crossed the plate, as the coaching staff gave everybody a chance to play. On the mound Devin Ortiz and Ryan Vilade were nearly perfect in five scoreless innings. Cullum Lee took the loss.
New Zealand 0 – Japan 16
Led by center fielder Hayato Nishiura Japan prevailed 16-0 over New Zealand, earning their third win of the tournament. It was a close game in the beginning before Japan exploded for 12 runs combined in the fourth and fifth. Nishiura went 2-for-3 with a home run and six RBI. Kensei Saito, Masato Owada and Koki Chikamoto kept New Zealand hitless in the contest. Liam Wilson got charged with the loss.
Italy 11 – Czech Republic 1
In an all-European matchup Italy defeated the Czech Republic 11-1 in seven innings. Four runs in the second gave Italy the lead, three runs one frame later blew it open. Leonardo Seminati, who is batting .556 in the Baseball World Cup, went 3-for-3 with a triple, a double, three runs scored and a RBI. Matteo Liberti earned the win after six strikeouts in five solid frames. Jakub Grepl took the loss.
Brazil 10 – Guatemala 3
Brazil improved to 3-0 in the event with a 10-3 victory over Guatemala. They took a quick 5-0 lead after three frames en route to the win. Four runs in the seventh blew the score open after Guatemala got on the board and cut the deficit to four runs. Vitor Nakamura issued three unearned runs on six hits in eight innings, striking out 11. Gabriel Maicel tripled twice, scored three times and drove in four. Jarlin Tecu got charged with the loss.
Germany 3 – Panama 12
Panama got over .500 with a 12-3 win over Germany, which dropped to 1-2. A six-run third decided the outcome early. Four runs in the eighth turned the game into a blowout. Omar Vigil and Enrique Saldana collected four hits apiece. Wilfredo Pereira earned the win in relief. David Reichertz had to settle for the loss.
Hong Kong 17 – Lithuania 4
With leadoff hitter Cheuk Yam Wan scoring five runs Hong Kong beat Lithuania 17-4 in seven innings in a duel of previously winless teams. Hong Kong scored in each of the first four innings en route to the victory. Tsz Hei Fong pitched five solid innings for the win. Dziugas Gavrilcikas didn’t made it out of the first to take the loss.
Venezuela 9 – Argentina 4
Venezuela rebounded from their loss to Cuba and edged out Argentina 9-4 for their second victory of the 15U Baseball World Cup. Brayan Carpio laid the groundwork with 6 1/3 strong innings from the mound, striking out eight. His offense supported him with seven runs in the first two frames en route to the win. Gustavo Gomez scored twice and drove in two. Esteban Cardozo took the loss.
Mexico 9 – Chinese Taipei 10
Chinese Taipei stunned host Mexico with a 10-9 nail-biter in the evening. It was a meeting of undefeated teams. Team CT took a quick 7-0 lead midway through the fourth. But Mexico fought to stay in the game and made things interesting in the end. After Chinese Taipei went ahead 10-5, Mexico answered with four runs in the bottom of the ninth. But down to their last out, Mexico attempted to steal second base and was thrown out by Chinese Taipei’s catcher to end the game.
Australia 2 – Cuba 12
In another matchup of 2-0 clubs, Cuba defeated Australia 12-2, improving to 3-0. The Caribbeans scored in seven of the nine innings. Lazaro Almenteros and Jonathan Machado scored three runs apiece. Ramon Perez threw five one-hit innings for the win and drove in two at the plate. Joshua Bedggood got charged with the loss, surrendering two hits, five runs (2 ER) and seven walks in 3 2/3 frames.
Coverage of the eighty-three matches of the II 15U Baseball World Cup will be enhanced by online play-by-play (i.e., CBS Sports GameTracker) and through social media (by following @BWC15U on Twitter and “BaseballWorldCup” on Facebook and Instagram; official hash tag #BWC15U).
About the 15U Baseball World Cup:
Launched in 2012 by the International Baseball Federation and played every two years, the 15U Baseball World Cup is baseball’s highest and most elite level of competition in this age category, like the 12U Baseball World Cup. And also like the 12U event, the 15U Baseball World Cup is the only world championship across all of sport to feature National Teams within this age range.
Past players who have competed on the youth Baseball World Cup platforms include Canada’s Brett Lawrie, Japan’s Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani, South Korea’s Shin-soo Choo, Cuba’s Aroldis Chapman and Yasiel Puig, and USA’s Clayton Kershaw, Justin Upton and Buster Posey, among countless others past and future stars.
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