2023 Year in Review: Two maiden World Cups, new competition format highlight memorable year for international softball
The 2023 WBSC softball season will be remembered for many firsts. Two new World Cups enjoyed their historic inaugural edition, while the Women's Softball World Cup inaugurated the Two-Stage Format with a successful group stage.
Jack Besgrove, Austalia win two in a row
The softball year started with the maiden edition of the WBSC U-23 Men's Softball World Cup, a newly created tournament to provide competition between the U-18 and the senior World Cups and also open new opportunities for athletes around the world to represent their country at the highest level.
Just four months after pitching Australia to their second men's softball world championship, Jack Besgrove dominated again with a MVP performance, capping it with a monster game and title victory in the World Championship Final. Besgrove, who turned 20 two days ago, struck out 82 batters in 48 innings of work, while giving up 19 hits and eight earned runs.
Australia claimed the inaugural WBSC U-23 Men's Softball World Cup title behind Besgrove's masterful pitching performance against Japan in the 1-0 final where he pitched a complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts.
Argentina claimed the bronze medal with a 10-1 win over Mexico in six innings.
It was the last tournament for the Mizuno M150 softballs - the official ball of the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games softball events. This model was replaced by the more sustainable model M170.
The event was played in Parana, Argentina, from 15 to 23 April, at the Nafaldo Cargnel Stadium an El Plumazo. It was the second time Argentina hosted a Softball World Cup, after the Junior Men's Softball World Championship 2012 (later replaced by the U-18 World Cup).
Europe welcomes the world with first-ever Group Stage
The XVII WBSC Women's Softball World Cup will be remembered as the first WBSC event to be played using the Two-Stage Format, splitting the tournament into two phases played in two consecutive years.
The new format allowed more teams to participate in the event (18 teams played in the Group Stage) and new countries to host a WBSC World Cup with Ireland, Spain and Italy organising a Softball World Cup for the first time. Fifty-five games in three countries with 18 national teams in action showed the best of international softball to fans.
Group A took place in Balbrigan, Ireland, from 11 to 15 July. World No.1 and three-time defending world champions USA beat Great Britain in the final to claim the first ticket to the World Cup Finals in Italy next year. Australia beat Great Britain in the repechage game under lights and misty rain in the last game of the tournament to claim the second ticket.
Favourites USA are on a 28 game winning streak in the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup (and World Games) going back to the final of the 2014 edition when they lost to Japan and they continued that impressive form in Balbriggan winning all four games played.
Group B was played in Valencia, Spain, from 18 to 22 July. World No. 3 Puerto Rico claimed the first ticket to the WBSC Softball World Cup Finals 2024 from the group after beating China 2-1 in the final at the Camp Municipal de Beisbol i Sofbol de València, Spain. European champions the Netherlands won the second ticket with an impressive 2-0 win over China in the repechage game.
Group C took place in Buttrio and Castions di Strada, Italy, from 22 to 26 July. Olympic champions Japan and Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Canada “punched tickets” to the Finals 2024 after finishing first and second respectively.
The remaining two spots for the Finals 2024 went to Italy and China as the highest third-placed team across the three groups from the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup 2018 (Italy finished 7th, China 10th and Great Britain 11th).
Hannah Flippen (USA), Aleshia Ocasio (PUR), and Ayane Nakagawa (JPN) were recognized as the Most Outstanding Players in Groups A, B, and C, respectively.
USA first-ever WBSC U-15 Women's Softball World Cup champions
USA prevailed 3-0 in the unprecedented championship showdown with Puerto Rico in the final of the inaugural WBSC U-15 Women's Softball World Cup at Ota Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday. USA now holds every World Championship title in women's softball, namely the WBSC U-15, U-18 and senior crowns.
The win was based on a superb pitching performance from Macie Bryant who allowed only one hit and claimed 17 strikeouts in the final. USA's Aspen Boulware was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament having hit .421 with four home runs, six RBIs and 10 runs scored.
Prior to the win, USA collected seven wins and dropped one match against hosts and world No. 2 Japan during the Super Round but bounced back against world No. 5 Chinese Taipei to secure a spot in the final.
Japan beat world Chinese Taipei 2-0 to claim the bronze medal. Japan pitcher Shion Yamamoto was the home side's star, working seven innings with three hits and no runs. She also had four strikeouts. Sari Nagatomo and Lilia Lewis scored the crucial runs for Japan on offence.
The maiden edition of the U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup, was played across three stadiums: Komazawa Olympic Park Sports Complex Baseball Stadium, Setagaya City Okura Sports Center Baseball Ground and Ota Stadium as part of the legacy from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Walk-off grand slam gives Japan U-18 Men's title
A walk-off grand slam from Ryuga Umeda in the bottom of the eighth inning gave Japan the 2023 U-18 Men's Softball World Cup title in an 8-4 extra-inning thriller against hosts Mexico in Hermosillo. Japan, the programme with most medals in the history of the event, added a fourth world title (second in a row after claiming the honours in 2020 ) to their previous 11 medals.
For Mexico, the silver medal became only their second medal since earning bronze in the inaugural edition of the event in 1981. Counting the senior World Cup, it was the fourth medal for Mexico, tying their best performance ever of second place in the first edition of the World Cup in Mexico City in 1966.
Japan's left fielder Ryuki Tsuda was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament during the closing ceremony. Tsuda hit .409 for the tournament with two home runs, eight RBIs and was the tournament's leader in runs scored with 11. He scored on Umeda's World Championship title-winning grand slam.
For the bronze medal, Alex McGillivray's clutch two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth and Nicholas Neid's stellar pitching performance steered Canada to a bronze medal win. Canada posted a 2-1 win over USA, clinching their sixth bronze medal and ninth overall in the history of the tournament.
In a great illustration of the growing popularity of softball in Mexico, more than 2,000 fans filled the Fernando Ortiz stadium to watch the World Championship Final. More than 9,000 people paid a ticket across the nine-day competition.
