Guam confirmed as Oceania U-15 Champions, qualify for VI WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup

World No. 34 Guam defeated No. 40 New Zealand in a best-of-three series, claiming the WBSC Oceania U-15 Baseball title and Oceania's spot in the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2024.

Results

New Zealand-Guam 13-10
Guam-New Zealand 12-7
Guam-New Zealand 13-2

The series was initially intended to be a best-of-five, but two consecutive days of inclement weather limited it to three games.

New Zealand won the first game dominated by line-ups. After falling behind 4-0 in the second game, Guam struck back and levelled the series with a 12-7 win.

"Today we played the game the right way," commented Guam's head coach Keith Hattig after the second game.

After rain forced the cancellation of two consecutive days, Guam outscored New Zealand in the rubber match, thriving on a nine-run first at-bat.

"Our boys came out early and never looked back," commented Hattig. "It was a good series. Both teams matched up well."

Guam repeated as the Oceania U-15 Champions. The Oceania U-15 Baseball Championship has been contested six times since 2003. Australia won the first four editions before Guam won the last two.

The VI WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup is scheduled for next year. Dates and venues will be announced soon.

Five of the 12 participants have already qualified.

Africa (1)
Americas (5) qualifying tournament February 2024-Dominican Republic
Asia (2) No. 5 Chinese Taipei, No. 1 Japan
Europe (2) No. 7 Netherlands, No. 14 Italy
Oceania (1) No. 34 Guam
Wild Card (1)

The International Baseball Federation held 13 World Youth Baseball Championship editions for the U-16 age bracket from 1989 to 2011.