by Philipp Wuerfel
Chinese Taipei 14 – Czech Republic 4
Chinese Taipei improved to 2-0 in the U15 Baseball World Cup in Mexico with a 14-4 win over the Czech Republic on Friday. Six runs in the fourth and six in the sixth provided the majority of the run support. Five pitchers kept the Czech team to four hits in the game. Chi-Ling Hsu picked up the win, allowing no hits and no walks in two innings of strong relief. Tse-Hao Chiu led all batters going 4-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI. Victor Vecerka took the loss.
Japan 7 – Germany 5
Japan scored five runs in the first en route to a 7-5 win over Germany. In the first game of the tournament, which wasn’t ended due to a mercy rule, the European squad stayed in the contest for the entire duration of the match. However a four-run deficit from the opening frame was too deep to overcome. Shu Matsuda, who later also pitched a scoreless ninth for the save, drove in two. David Dinski had two runs and two RBI for Germany. Charles Walzer, who rebounded from a rocky first, took the loss.
Panama 16 – South Africa 1
Panama got its first win of the tournament with a 16-1 victory over South Africa. However South Africa led 1-0 for the first one and a half frames. Panama broke the 1-1 tie with a three-run third and blew it wide open with nine runs in the fourth. Jaime Arouz issued just one unearned run on no hits and five walks in five innings. Didier Vargas completed the no-hitter with a scoreless sixth. Iraj Serrano doubled twice and drove in four.
Italy 5 – Brazil 12
Brazil earned its second win with a 12-5 victory over Italy. The Squadra Azzurri took a 2-0 lead in the first and kept the South Americans at bay until the fourth. Four runs there and five in the sixth gave Brazil a commanding lead en route to the win. Gustavo Roque drove in three. Igor Kimura picked up the win in relief. Oscar Tucci took the loss.
USA 16 – New Zealand 1
The United States improved to 2-0 with a 16-1 victory over New Zealand. Kristofer Armstrong, Doug Nikhazy and Thomas Burbank combined to issue just one hit, one run and one walk in five otherwise perfect frames. Offensively they already got to work with an eight-run lead after the opening period. Brice Turang went 4-for-4 with four runs and four RBI out of the leadoff spot. Kazuma Nakano got charged with the loss.
Hong Kong 2 – Australia 14
Australia also remained undefeated in the event, prevailing 14-2 against Hong Kong. The Aussies scored 11 runs in the first three innings en route to the win. Defensively Tom Holland, Kodey Wilford and Jordan Busch kept Hong Kong to two hits, two runs and three walks. Matthew Beatie and Jess Williams combined for six RBI. Yuet Hei Lo took the loss.
Lithuania 1 – Argentina 16
Argentina entered the win column with a 16-1 victory over Lithuania. They needed just two frames to decide the outcome. Five runs in the third broke the scoreless tie, 11 in the fifth led to the early ending due to ten-run rule. Martin Cruz went the distance to pick up the win. He also tripled twice to drive in four runs. Mindaugas Strimaitis had to settle for the loss following a 4 2/3 innings outing.
Guatemala 0 – Mexico 19
Mexico cruised past Guatemala 19-0 in five innings for winner number two. An 11-run fifth ran up the score to 15-run rule territory. Catcher Carlos Soto homered scored twice and drove in three for the hosts of the U15 Baseball World Cup. Alejandro Fajardo and Hector Soto kept Guatemala to one hit and three walks. Soto got the win. Oscar Reynosa received the loss, issuing two hits, three runs and four walks in two frames.
Cuba 12 – Venezuela 2
In a rematch of the 2012 Gold Medal Game, Cuba got some payback for the loss of two years ago. They defeated Venezuela 12-2 in eight innings. However it was a close game until Cuba’s offense exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth en route to the victory. Four players collected two RBI apiece. Adrian Morejon went seven innings for the win. Maximo Castillo took the loss after 4 1/3 innings of solid work.
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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