21/10/2023 3 Minute Read

U-15 Women's Softball World Cup Day 1: Japan take victory on opening day of home World Cup; USA, Mexico, Italy, Philippines also post wins

The WBSC U-15 Women's Softball World Cup started with victories for the Philippines, Mexico, Japan, USA and Italy on the opening day on Saturday.

History was made on Saturday, 21 October, as the WBSC U-15 Women's Softball World Cup officially opened in the Japanese capital Tokyo. Five exciting games were lined-up to open the inaugural edition of the tournament.

Japan delighted the home crowd at Komazawa Olympic Park Sports Complex Baseball Stadium as they claimed a lone run across the board in their 1-0 win over their Asian rivals Chinese Taipei.

Joining the hosts in the win-column in Group A are Italy and Mexico, winning with 7-0 score lines over New Zealand and Peru, respectively.

In Group B, USA posted the biggest winning margin of the day, beating Brazil 10-0, while the Philippines overcame Czechia with a 3-2 victory in a thrilling opening game of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico earned a 7-0 forfeit win against Uganda.

Day 1 Results

Philippines-Czechia	3-2	BOX SCORE
Peru-Mexico	0-7	BOX SCORE
Chinese Taipei-Japan	0-1	BOX SCORE
Brazil-USA	0-10	BOX SCORE
New Zealand-Italy	0-7	BOX SCORE

Watch every Game Live

Philippines v Czechia 3-2

The Philippines avoided Czechia's late surge and escaped with a 3-2 victory in the Group B opener. Erica Arnaiz's led the Philippine squad with 14 strikeouts, allowing four hits and two runs.

The Philippines got off to an aggressive start with three of their batters reaching base off a walk, a fielding error and a single. Czechia managed to put a stop to their opening inning struggle and got the two outs, until Cristine Calaguas hit a single that put the Philippines up ahead 1-0.

Arnaiz handled the Czech hitters well with three quick outs in the bottom of the first, while her teammate Sheena Panteria hit a triple to right centre, setting herself to a good scoring position until Jannel Santos' sacrifice bunt helped her reach home plate and score the Philippines' second run in the next inning.

After two scoreless innings, the Philippines got back on the board in the fifth, with Leian Baylen scoring on fielder's choice for a 3-0 advantage.

In the seventh inning, Czechia staged a comeback off an error that scored Bara Jedelska and Lucie Horova for the two runs, putting pressure on their opponents. However, the Philippines managed to escape the jam to win with a slim 3-2 margin.

Peru v Mexico 0-7

Mexico scored in four consecutive innings to come up with an opening day win in Group A, as they beat Peru 7-0.

The game started with a scoreless first inning until Mexico found their rhythm in the bottom of the second, where Karina Rodriguez's walk, Aryanna Salazar's single and a fielder's choice scored the Philippines' first run.

Salazar later scored the second run off a stolen base before Katya Alarcon scored Romina Casillas for a productive closing to their second inning stint.

Mexico carried their momentum into the bottom of the third, scoring two more runs for Rodriguez and Salazar off Carla Montoya's double and Aztrid Reyes' single, respectively.

Mexico extended their lead to 7-0 in the next two frames, scoring a run each in the fourth and fifth innings. Mayte Figueroa's single to right centre field was definitive for the Mexicans as they recorded their first win in the U-15 tournament at 7-0.

Chinese Taipei v Japan 0-1

Japan got their revenge against Chinese Taipei with a 1-0 win in Group A at Komazawa Olympic Park Sports Complex Baseball Stadium.

These two sides previously met at the 2023 U-15 Women Softball Asia Cup, where Chinese Taipei beat Japan with a 3-0 scoreline.

In their latest encounter, Rachika Sakuragi accounted for two of the four hits to lift the Japan to a successful opening game campaign on their home turf.

The first two innings of the game was even with both sides gauging each other, with Chinese Taipei allowing Japan two hits without surrendering a run. The hosts finally got their break when Sakuragi singled, followed by Yumeka Kagen's double that put Sakuragi scoring their first run.

Despite their aggressiveness to start their offence going, two hits could not turn into runs for Chinese Taipei in the bottom of the fifth, before conceding the game in seven.

Brazil v USA 0-10

USA needed only four innings to start their campaign with a win. They posted a 10-0 win against Brazil behind Lily Pullen's excellent performance, tossing a no-hit game.

Stevie South earned a walk and later a run off a Jordyn Johnsen triple to jumpstart USA offence in their game against Brazil at Setagaya, closing the first inning with a 1-0 edge.

USA's offence exploded in the bottom of the second, plating eight runs to update the score to 9-0. This huge advantage put the game out of reach for Brazil, and USA topped it with a final run by Brooklyn Paratore 10-0.

New Zealand v Italy 0-7

Italy closed the day with a win over New Zealand, putting up seven runs across three consecutive innings and leaving their game rivals scoreless in the game.

After an exciting first inning duel, Italy were the first to get on the scoreboard at the bottom of the second on Georgia Colino's single that plated Letizia Giunchi. Colino later scored a run on a dropped fly error to have a 2-0 lead by the end of the second inning.

Italy had another inspiring performance in the bottom of the third, scoring two more runs off errors to gain a 4-0 advantage. The Europeans finished off the game with three runs.