New Zealand 11-1 United States: Cooper-Nicola, Wilson, Davidson drive six runs to steer host team to victory

Te Kirika Cooper-Nicola, Levi Wilson and Jacob Davidson combined for six runs scored on Sunday to steer hosts New Zealand to an overwhelming 11-1 victory over the United States, improving their win:loss record to 1:1 at the U-18 Men's Softball World Cup.

Kahurangi Beamsley-Allan pitched for New Zealand in 4 innings (3 H, 1 R, 4 SO) and earned the win, while Chase Thomson, who also scored the Americans’ sole run, loss the game in a 3-inning outing (1 H, 7 R, 0 SO).

Cooper-Nicola got on the board first for the hosts on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Dallas Clifton in the first inning, then Davidson added another one on a defensive error in the bottom second.

The United States finally scored after Thomson’s home run in the third, but New Zealand benefitted from USA’s two errors to finish the third in the lead 4-1.

New Zealand followed up with a seven-run surge to end the game, including an RBI triple by Jonathan Little and a 2-run walkoff single off the bat of Hunter Simpson to secure the home win.