WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup Day 6: Tan sets new strikeout record; Japan, Australia, Czech Republic off to winning starts in Super Round
Japan, Australia and the Czech Republic won their matches on the opening day of Super Round action on Thursday setting up a "semifinal" between Australia and Japan on Friday for a spot in the final.
Japan, Australia and the Czech Republic all got off to winning ways in the U-18 Softball Men’s World Cup Super Round, which started on Thursday in Palmerston North, New Zealand setting up a fascinating day's play on Friday.
Japan won the derby between the world’s top two teams as they edged Argentina, while Australia displayed their dominance against Guatemala and the Czech Republic collected a key win over hosts New Zealand.
On Friday, Japan take on Australia, who are on a winning run of nine games after their last loss was to Japan in the final Opening Round game in 2018, with the winner booking a spot in the final. Argentina, the Czech Republic and New Zealand must all win on Friday to keep their final hopes alive.
In the Placement Round, Canada, Mexico and Singapore all bounced back from defeat on Wednesday to claim wins over the United States, South Africa and Denmark respectively.
Singapore pipped Denmark 4-3 with Mathew Tan in the spotlight as he denied the world No. 11 their first win in the tournament with 18 strikeouts. Tan’s exemplary performance on the circle against Denmark broke his personal record of 17 for the tournament.
World No.1 Japan needed five innings to edge World No.2 Argentina 8-1, as Ayato Iseki led the offence for the East Asian side with three RBIs and two runs. Pitcher Takuro Inagaki, on the other hand, showed masterclass performance in the circle as he was able to strike out seven Argentina batters.
Australia showed no signs of slowing down and came up with a convincing 13-0 win over Guatemala, with Jeremy Garland presenting an all-around performance as he collected four RBIs and two runs and threw 12 strikeouts in just four innings from the circle.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic padded their win column after their 8-2 triumph over New Zealand. Czech Republic star Jakub Osička pitched in all seven innings with 14 strikeouts, improving his tournament total to 64 strikeouts so far.
It was a day of tight encounters at the Placement Round as Canada, Mexico and Singapore posted victories.
Canada secured their win from continental neighbours the United States 8-6 after Jackson Pegelo brought out late-game heroics of a two-run walk-off home run that broke the 6-6 deadlock in the final inning.
Mexico mounted a 7-5 comeback victory against South Africa with the help of Khristian Ramirez, who batted a two-run homer that sparked a seven-run blowout in the third inning.
