Taiga Onishi tossed a three-hit shutout against New Zealand on Wednesday to lead Japan to a 5-0 win, completing the sweep of Group B in the WBSC U-23 Men's Softball World Cup. The right-hander struck out 13 opponents. With the two teams already qualified for the Super Round, the matchup between Japan and New Zealand served as a Super Round game.
Japan scored the first run of the game in the top of the third. Koki Sato brought in Tomoki Kikukawa with a single to left field, and in the same play Yoshinari Matsumoto was thrown out at home plate.
In the fifth inning, the Asian champions connected three consecutive singles and a double to score four in the fifth, with Yuta Motozuka, Tomoki Kikukawa, Kaito Miyamoto credited with the RBIs, giving Japan with a decisive 5-0 lead.
The final result of this game confirmed Group B final standings and the teams that will move to the Super Round. Japan clinched first place with an undefeated record. A triple tie in second place between Canada, New Zealand and Venezuela left the South Americans out of the Super Round for the tie-break rule. Canada will open the Super Round with 1-1 card and New Zealand with 0-2.
