One month ago: Re-live the best plays of the U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup
The exciting U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup in Palmerston North gathered 12 nations across the globe.
On Saturday 22 February, exactly one month ago, Guatemala and Denmark officially opened the first-ever WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup, an unforgettable tournament that ended with Japan claiming the title of world champion.
To celebrate this date, enjoy the video with the best plays of the tournament including impressive diving catches, home runs and amazing wins :
Three players named to the All-World Team of the tournament are featured in the video, showcasing their incredible skill set.
On day 3, Jeremy Garland led off the game for Australia with a monster home run off the first pitch of the game, to lead his team to an 11-0 victory over Singapore in Group A. The two-way player had an outstanding tournament for Australia, hitting .480 (12-for-25) with 2 homers, 3 triples, 13 runs scored and 7 RBI. He led the tournament in hits and runs scored. From the pitching circle, he ended with 1-1 record and 3.71 ERA in 11.1 innings, with 24 strikeouts. He was the losing pitcher of the final. After the tournament, he was named to the All-World Team as a shortstop.
The MVP of the tournament Hitto Nagayoshi also displayed all his skills during the event, especially hitting and running. As an example, on day 2 of the Super Round, the Japanese second baseman hit a go-ahead, 3-run inside the park home run to give Japan a 3-1 lead over Australia. Nagayoshi hit 7-for-17 for the tournament (.412), setting a new record for youth men’s softball world cups with 4 triples.
The best pitcher of the tournament was Jakub Osicka, from the Czech Republic. The right-hander guided his team to a historic Bronze Medal, the first-ever for a European nation at this age bracket. In the final day, Osicka fired 13 strikeouts for a complete-game shut out against Argentina to clinch the historic third place.