IX WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Final Day: USA win Group A undefeated; Canada and Mexico finish second and third respectively

The United States, Canada and Mexico finished as the top three teams in Group A of the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup, following the completion of the three rescheduled games on Sunday.

The three teams, who had punched their tickets to the Finals 2024 as early as Saturday, were playing for the final finishing order on Sunday, which saw USA beat Mexico 2-0 to stay undefeated, a result which meant Canada and Mexico finished second and third respectively despite the later games results, which saw Australia overcome Hong Kong, China 9-2 and Canada beat Korea 10-0.

The results of Sunday's closing games maintained the order of the top three teams' positions. USA finished in pole position with a 5-0 record, followed by Canada (4-1) in second, and Mexico (3-2) in third, earning the wild card. In the bottom half of the standings, Australia (2-3) took fourth place, Hong Kong, China placed fifth (1-4) and Korea in sixth.

USA completed their undefeated run in the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Group A with a 2-0 victory over Mexico, behind a one-hit performance by their pitching staff and clutch hits by Naomi Ryan, who produced the only two runs of the game. 

Australia came from behind in the second part of the game to overcome Hong Kong, China in their final game. The Asians had a two-run lead in the top of the fifth, when Australia mounted the comeback to take the decisive lead.

Canada closed Group A with a 10-0 victory in five innings against Korea. Julia Konigshofer homered in her first official at-bat in the Canadian uniform and ended the game with four RBIs.

After the event, USA second baseman Alex Hugo was named Most Outstanding Player of the IX WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup. Hugo hit .714 with 13 runs scored, nine RBIs, four doubles and one home run.

Korea vs Canada

In the bottom of the second, Julia Konigshofer hit a two-run homer to put Canada ahead in the score. The game against Korea is Konighofer's first official at-bat with the national team, who made her pitching debut on Wednesday against Hong Kong, China. She was the winning pitcher of that game.

Emma Payette and Julia Konigshofer hit an RBI single each in the bottom of the third to double Canada's advantage to 4-0. The hosts added five in the bottom of the fourth, with RBIs by Payette, Konigshofer, Justine Marin, and Kaitlyn Ross.

In the bottom of the fifth, Raine Padgham doubled to left field, and then scored on a walk-off single by Payette.

Australia vs Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong, China took a two-run lead in the bottom of the third. After two quick outs, How Ken Chan hit a single and then leadoff hitter Wing Hin Ng walked to put two runners on base. They both scored on two consecutive errors, in consecutive plays, by the Australian defence.

In the top of the fifth, Australia mounted a two-out, three-run rally to take the lead in the scoreboard. Three consecutive singles and a two-run double by Claire O'Sullivan gave the Australians the lead in the game.

Australia exploded with six runs on six hits in the top of the seventh. Morgan Doty had a two-RBI single, while Claire O'Sullivan, Jordan Richardson and Caitlin Eynon recorded one RBI each.

Mexico vs USA

Alex Hugo scored the first two runs of the game. In the bottom of the first inning, she hit a double to left field and then scored on a single by Naomi Ryan to put USA in front, 1-0. Two innings later, the USA second baseman was hit by a pitch and later scored on a double by Ryan.

In the top of the sixth, Mexico put two runners in scoring position with one out. However, reliever Olivia Pichardo struck out Itza Hernandez and Daniela Leal to escape the jam.

Pregame

After a cloudy day yesterday, Sunday presented perfect conditions to play baseball with blue skies and a sunny day. 

USA and Mexico are scheduled at 11:30 local time. The game, which serves as a preview of next year’s Finals, could determine the winner of Group A. If USA win, they will finish the group stage undefeated, and will head to the Finals as one of the main contenders for the title. On the other hand, a Mexico victory would guarantee them a first-place tying finish, sending a statement to the rest of the teams. Elise Berger (USA) and Adriana Palma (MEX) will start the game.

Sunday's second game will see Australia and Hong Kong, China - both with a 1-2 record- in a head-to-head battle for fourth place. Both teams fell short of earning spots in the Finals 2024, but a last-day win will allocate them a fourth spot, earning more ranking points for their programme. Maddison Erwin will be Australia’s starter, while Kwong Yin Sum will make her third appearance for Hong Kong, China, but first time as a starter. First pitch is at 15:30.

Group A' closing game is between Korea and Canada at 19:30. The hosts will try to finish their group stage on a high note on home soil and keep the momentum going after yesterday’s win over Australia. With a top-three finish secured, Canada’s final position in the standings depends also on other results. Korea are looking for their first win of the tournament. Korea’s starter will be Bo Mi KIM, while 17-year-old Sarah Pengelly will open for Canada and will make her debut in the competition.

• Where to watch.
• Day 1 recap
• Day 2 recap
• Day 3 recap
• Day 4 recap
• Day 5 recap
• Six teams participating in two groups. Top two teams from each group “punch a ticket” to the Finals next year. Learn more about the tournament format here.
• Group B in Miyoshi City, Japan, sees hosts and world No. 1 Japan; No. 2 Chinese Taipei; No. 5 Venezuela; No. 7 Cuba; No. 9 Puerto Rico and No. 16 France in action from 13-19 September. 
• IX WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals to be played in 2024 in Thunder Bay, Canada.
• Meet Thunder Bay, host of the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Group A