By Gabriel Fidler, Managing Editor.
Germany may have started the Under-18 Baseball World Cup with a pair of victories, but in today’s matchup of Europe’s two delegates, it was Italy that claimed the victory, its second consecutive at the tournament in Okinawa. Meanwhile, South Africa took on China in a bid for its first victory at the U18 World Cup.
Germany – Italy
Santiago Arismendi pitched a four-inning gem in relief, and Italy came-from-behind to defeat Germany in a clash of European nines at the Under-18 Baseball World Cup.
It was Italy that struck first, turning a walk and two errors into a single run in the first, despite German starter Jona Widmann striking out the side. The Deutschlanders immediately struck back, however, loading the bases to start the second on walks to Finn Niemeyer and Robin Spies and a nifty bunt by Benito Bull, which as the runners advanced, found enough real estate to allow Bull to beat out a hit. Kyran Norgren then lifted a sac fly to center to score Niemeyer, and Alessandro Carrasquilla lined a single to the middle outfield for the RBI. Federico Magalotti wiggled out of the jam on the next batter, though, inducing a flyout to left center that Enrico Bicchiarelli tracked down.
Italy regained the lead in the third after a base on balls to Aldo Pavarani and a double to Pablo Suárez. Patrick Silva sent the former home on a groundball, while Súarez touched the plate after a wild pitch.
Arismendi took over for Magalotti after rain delayed the game in the top of the fourth with Italy leading 3-2. Italy added a little breathing room with a marker in the fifth, once more after a leadoff walk to Pavarani, who scored on a passed ball. Arismendi was an ace out of the ‘pen for Italian skipper Guglielmo Trinci, firing four shutout innings, and setting down the last 11 batters in order. The right-hander allowed only two hits, while striking out four without a walk.
Lost in the result was the solid pitching of Germany’s two hurlers. Starter Jona Widmann was unlucky to take a loss, punching out six in four innings and allowing only two hits and two walks. Samuel Redle finished with two innings, striking out two. The two teams each had only four hits, with Germany’s Bull the only player notching a pair, though Pavarani reached base three times and also stole a base.
China – South Africa
China scored three runs in the top of the first against Christian Fradd, setting the tone. Xin Zhao made the most of a leadoff defensive error with an RBI-triple, and Haonan Chen added a two-run knock.
Aydee Osman got South Africa on the board in the second after a one-out single from Stiaan Henning, but the Green-and-Gold could not plate Osman.
The two-run deficit did not last long, as China manufactured a single run in the third on a walk, a sacrifice hit, a balk, and a grounder. In the fourth, a throwing error led to two more runs for the East Asian squad.
Jaden du Preez gave South Africa new life in the bottom of the frame, lining a one-base hit down the left field line to start things off. The two-way player came off the bench to provide a pair of hits, the only South African to hit the feat in ths game. The hot-hitting Joshua Botha dropped a single of his own in centerfield, putting runners on the corners. China’s catcher, Xin Zhao, then manage to catch du Preez leaning, and the caught stealing gave China its first out. A grounder from Henning scored Botha, but South Africa only managed one run in the frame.
The final three innings saw China add at least one run in each, plating two in the fifth, one in the sixth, and another pair in the seventh. Down 11-2, South Africa at least finished with a positive, as Junaid Bedford led off with a free pass, and pinch runner Liam van der Westhuizen scored on a base knock by Connor Steyn.
Errors were the story of the game, as China did not commit a miscue, while South Africa allowed nine unearned runs to score on four errors. Fradd and Connor Stander, the first reliever called by Dean McKinnon, were victimized particularly by the defense. The former went three innings, sending two down on strikes, and allowing four runs on four hits and two walks, but with only one of the runs earned. Stander tossed 2.2 frames, with five runs scoring, none of them earned. Jayden Clarke finished off the final 1.1 innings, with one of the two runs to score unearned. All told, South Africa allowed seven hits, but walked seven.
Other Games
The nightcap of the first day of Super Round play produced a thrilling game, as the U.S.A. and Japan were scoreless into the bottom of the fifth, when the Americans scored the game’s first run. Japan tied up the game in the top of the seventh and forced extra innings, when the hosts plated five and held the U.S. to a single run to win, 6-2. Japan is now the only undefeated nation at the Under-18 Baseball World Cup, while South Korea moved into a tie for second place in the other evening game, jumping to a 4-0 lead in the first against Taiwan and rolling to an 8-1 victory.
In the other Super Round game, Caribbean neighbors Puerto Rico and Panamá both had excellent pitching performances, with the U.S. territory coming out 3-1 in a closely played game. Similarly, the other Placement Round game was a thriller, with Australia and Cuba both scoring single runs in the sixth before the Antilleans walked things off in the ninth.
Day 7 Schedule
Italy will put its winning streak on the line against China, while Germany will have a very tough test against Cuba, whom it would need to beat to have a chance at finishing top of the group. South Africa and Australia will match up as the only two teams from the Southern Hemisphere at the U18 World Cup.
Placement Group Standings
Japan: 3-0
U.S.A.: 2-1
South Korea: 2-1
Puerto Rico: 1-2
Taiwan: 1-2
Panamá: 0-3
Group B Standings
Cuba: 3-0
Italy: 2-1
Germany: 2-1
Australia: 1-2
China: 1-2
South Africa: 0-3
Box Scores are available here [link]. See our other Under-18 Baseball World Cup coverage:
Preview [link].
Day 1 Results [link].
Day 2 Results [link].
Day 3 Results [link].
Day 4 Results [link].
Day 5 Results [link].
Day 6 Results [link].