The maiden edition of the WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup is set to begin on Saturday with 12 teams from five continents playing 50 games for the title of world champion. The teams have been split into two groups to open the competition, with the top three teams advancing to the Super Round. The tournament will be played in Parana, Argentina.
Four men’s softball superpowers will collide in Group B in a tough group. Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Venezuela will be challenged by Latin America's Team WBSC and Europe's Israel for the three spots in the Super Round.
World No. 2 Canada received a wild card to enter the competition and is the highest-ranked team in Group B. This past week, they split a four-game series against USA in Florida, prior to their trip to Argentina. Five players are veterans of the U-19 Canadian team that finished fourth in the World Cup 2018: Dallas Kipfer, Isaac Lefebvre, Riley Manion, Jordan Pomeroy and Owen Torrie.
No. 3 Japan have played the last two finals of the U-18 World Cup, losing in 2018 and winning the trophy in 2020, both against Australia. The reigning Asian champions have seven members of the 2018 silver-medal U-19 National Team, and two players that claimed the 2020 U-18 world title. The four pitchers in the staff have previous participation in WBSC World Cups, with Taiga Onishi, Shota Onodera and Kazuya Umibe being part of the 2018 team, while Koki Yagi led the staff in 2020.
No. 6 New Zealand aim to rebound after disapointing outcomes in the last two World Cups as host team, finishing fifth in the U-18 World Cup 2020 and eighth in the senior World Cup last December. To do that, they trust in five bronze medalists from the 2018 Junior Men’s Softball World Cup in Brock Attewell, Huw Davies, Tobias Makisi, Floyd Nola and Taine Slaughter; and also in Tane Mumu, a speedy second baseman that played the senior World Cup in Auckland last year.
Venezuela, No. 8 in the WBSC Men’s Softball World Ranking, hosted the Americas qualifier for this event and earned the bronze medal. Angel Adames and Frank Ugas (pictured), who led the Venezuelan team during the qualifier, represented their country at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup 2022. Ugas was the ace of the team during the qualifier, posting a 0.66 ERA. During the Men's Softball World Cup he tossed 7.1 innings, with a 2.88 ERA.
Team WBSC* qualified for the tournament as the fourth-place finisher in the Americas qualifier. They lost the bronze medal game, 1-0, against Group B rivals Venezuela. Diego Morales was the team's top pitcher in the qualifier. He pitched 23.1 innings, posting a 0.90 ERA for the tournament. Morales also carried the team during the WBSC U-18 Men's Softball World Cup 2020, helping them to a historic sixth-place finish in Palmerston North. They will try to repeat the feat this week in Argentina.
The lowest-ranked team in the tournament, No. 21 Israel is the second European nation in the tournament. They clinched the bronze medal at the U-23 European Championship with a five-inning 8-0 win over Great Britain. This will be Israel's first participation in a Men's Softball World Cup since 2016, when they finished 12th in the Junior Men's Softball World Championship.
* Since the National Olympic Committee of Guatemala has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee, the Guatemalan athletes cannot represent their country or compete under its flag and name at international sports events. In respect of the athletes’ rights to participate in the World Cup, they will compete at the WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup under the WBSC flag.
