by International Baseball Federation, www.ibaf.org
Guatemala 8 – Italy 11
Italy edged out Guatemala 11-8 to earn its second win of the 15U Baseball World Cup, opening day four of the first round. All the action on the scoreboard was done after the sixth, as both teams started swinging the bats from the start. Italy used five runs in the first and four in the fourth to get ahead. Guatemala countered with eight runs between the second and the fourth, but couldn’t score any more against relievers Giovanni Bortolami and Filippo Daddi in the last five frames.
Panama 5 – New Zealand 1
Panama improved to 3-1 in Group B play with a 5-1 victory over New Zealand. Three runs in the bottom of the second decided the outcome early, as the pitching staff with starter Augustin Velasco and reliever Adan Frias kept the Kiwis to one hit, an unearned run and three walks in nine innings. Wilfredo Pereira had two hits, a triple, a run and a RBI. Anthony Moanaroa took the loss.
Germany 13 – South Africa 0
Florian Seidel pitched Germany to a 13-0 shutout over South Africa, their second win in four games in the tournament. Seidel allowed just leadoff walks in the first and the second, but otherwise was perfect in a seven-inning no-no. He struck out eight. David Dinski scored three times, David Reichertz drove in three. Seven runs in the fourth blew the score wide open. Dylan O’Brien took the loss.
Brazil 1 – Chinese Taipei 17
In a meeting of previously unbeaten teams, Chinese Taipei made another statement, crushing Brazil 17-1. It was a close game however with the score tied at 1-1 after four innings. But then CT erupted for nine runs in the fifth and seven in the sixth, as Brazil ran out of pitching. Ten different players crossed the plate for runs. Ming-Chi Juan and Yin-Chi Tu combined to drive in six. Yu-Hao Huang pitched four innings for the win. Igor Santos took the loss.
USA 7 – Japan 2
In the highly anticipated matchup between Group B opponents Team USA prevailed 7-2 over Japan. After Japan scored in the top of the first, the United States answered with five runs until the end of the third and took an early and commanding lead. They never looked back and cruised to their fourth win in as many games. Steven Williams hit a solo home run. Hugh Fisher allowed just three hits, a run and two walks in six strong innings. Two relievers closed it out. Katsuhiro Kobayashi got charged with the loss.
Argentina 12 – Hong Kong 11
In the second game of the tournament decided by a single run, Argentina won a nail-biter 12-11 against Hong Kong. A throwing error by the pitcher on a bunt attempt in the bottom of the ninth plated the winning run and decided the contest in walk-off style. Argentina had answered Hong Kong’s four-run rally in the top of the eighth with three runs in the bottom half of the same frame to tie the game. Nicolas Barrientos and Martin Cruz combined for two triples and five RBI. Cheuk Yam Wan scored four times for Hong Kong.
Cuba 30 – Lithuania 0
Cuba continues to dominate the tournament, blowing out Lithuania 30-0 in five innings. Nine runs in the second and 13 in the third ran up the score. Ariel Diaz went 5-for-6 with three runs and four RBI. Miguel Vargas had four hits, five runs and four RBI. Yoris Rodriguez also crossed the plate for five runs. Pedro Portuondo pitched five scoreless one-hit frames for the win. He struck out eight. Dziugas Gavrilcikas took the loss.
Venezuela 13 – Australia 3
BOX SCORE
Venezuela won a key matchup for second place in Pool C 13-3 against Australia. The South Americans opened the scoring in the first and put runs on the board in seven of the eight frames played. Rafael Marchan went 4-for-5 with a triple and four RBI. Jose Orta replaced starter Jose Marcano in the third and struck out nine in 4 1/3 innings pitched to receive the win. Lachlan Jack had to settle for the loss.
Coverage of the eighty-three matches of the II 15U Baseball World Cup will be enhanced by online play-by-play (i.e., CBS Sports GameTracker) and through social media (by following @BWC15U on Twitter and “BaseballWorldCup” on Facebook and Instagram; official hash tag #BWC15U).