With three months to go for the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Group B opening day, Japan Baseball hosted a press conference at Mazda Stadium in Hiroshima, Japan. Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, will host Group B of the IX WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup from 13 to 18 September.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medallist Ryosuke Kikuchi and Japan’s Women’s National Baseball Team players Iwame Kae and Tamaki Muramatsu were the main guests. Kikuchi, a WBSC Premier12 2019 champion who earned the Defensive Player of the Tournament award, delivered encouraging messages for the Japanese team.
"I think there is a unique tension and pressure in an international tournament, but I hope you can play with all your strength to win," Kikuchi said.
Both Kae and Muramatsu expressed their desire to help growing women’s baseball in Japan and around the world.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to increase the women's baseball fan base, so I’ll give my best to fulfil my dreams and show how fun is our sport,” said Iwami.
"I belong to the Hatsukaichi City team (in the same Hiroshima Prefecture), so I want to make Hiroshima Prefecture even more proud,” said Muramatsu. “It's a valuable opportunity to watch women's baseball."
The IX Women's Baseball World Cup is the first and only WBSC baseball event using a new two-stage format. Under this new system, the 12 qualified teams have been split into two groups: Group A will be played in Thunder Bay, Canada, from 8 to 13 August. Miyoshi City will host Group B from 13 to 17 September.
The Group B participants are World No. 1 Japan, No. 2 Chinese Taipei, No. 5 Venezuela, No. 7 Cuba, No. 9 Puerto Rico and No. 16 France.
