Chihuahua (Mexico). The I IBAF 15U Baseball World Championship in Chihuahua, Cuauhtémoc and Parral started into the second phase on Wednesday. The best two teams from each first-round pool moved up into Group 1, trying to qualify for Gold Medal and Bronze Medal Games next Sunday in another round robin. Cuba and Venezuela confirmed their favorite status by improving to 2-0 in their pool on Wednesday. Also Mexico started successfully with a blowout over Brazil. The Venezuela-Mexico matchup will be in the spotlight on Thursday.
Group 1 (1st to 6th)
Cuba 14 – Nicaragua 4
Cuba scored in four of the first five frames to beat Nicaragua 14-4 in seven innings, highlighted by a six-run rally in the fifth. Ruben Alvarez led the way, going 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and four RBI. Jose Amaury Norona scored three times, while Alexander Guerra drove in three.
Chinese Taipei 2 – Venezuela 20
Venezuela continued its hot hitting at the 15U Baseball World Championship in Mexico on Wednesday, dismantling Chinese Taipei 20-2 in seven innings. After a scoreless first inning, Venezuela scored in each of the next six frames for an impressive victory over the former undefeated squad from Asia. Nestor Tejada and Greifer Andrade combined for three homeruns, six runs and six RBI. Yorman Rodriguez went 4-for-5 with five RBI.
Mexico 19 – Brazil 2
After their surprise loss to Chinese Taipei in the first round, Mexico is back on track at the I IBAF 15U Baseball World Championship. The hosts defeated Brazil 19-2 in six innings. Ten runs in the bottom of the fifth blew the game wide open. Luis Fernando Urias, Hector Carlos Chapa and Conrado Diaz were the main players in the contest, collecting three triples, six runs and 13 RBI.
Standings Group 1
1) Cuba 2-0
1) Venezuela 2-0
3) Chinese Taipei 1-1
4) Mexico 1-1
5) Nicaragua 0-2
6) Brazil 0-2
Group 2 (7th to 12th)
Six teams are battling for spots 7th to 12th in the final standings in Group 2. The round robin for this classification round also began on Wednesday. Aruba edged out Italy, Germany crushed Hong Kong and Honduras defeated Argentina to celebrate wins.
Aruba 9 – Italy 8
In a slugfest with 17 runs, Aruba prevailed 9-8 over Italy. The team from the Antilles scored the decisive run in the bottom of the eighth on a RBI single by Roberto Lake. Italy tried to rally in the ninth, scored once to cut the deficit to one run before stranding three men on base.
Hong Kong 3 – Germany 20
Germany needed just five innings to capture their second win at the 15U Baseball World Championship. They dismantled Hong Kong 20-2 to start into round two. Six runs in the first and 11 in the fifth blew the result wide open. Three players scored three times, while 11 different players crossed the plate at least once.
Honduras 9 – Argentina 3
Honduras overcame a 1-3 deficit with five runs in the fifth en route to a 9-3 victory over Argentina in the evening game of Group 2 on Wednesday. Alejandro Fernandez collected three hits, two runs and two RBI in the win. Luis Salinas pitched six innings for Honduras. Nicolas Olocco was charged with the loss.
Standings Group 2
1) Aruba 2-0
1) Honduras 2-0
3) Germany 1-1
3) Argentina 1-1
5) Italy 0-2
5) Hong Kong 0-2
Group 3 (13th to 15th)
In group 3 Lithuania, Indonesia and the Ukraine are playing for places 13th to 15th in the final standings. On the first day Indonesia split a twin bill, losing to Lithuania in the morning and winning over the Ukraine in the afternoon.
Lithuania 19 – Indonesia 9
Indonesia 6 – Ukraine 2
Standings Group 3
1) Lithuania 1-0
2) Indonesia 1-1
3) Ukraine 0-1
