Press Release World Baseball Softball Confederation
MIDLAND, MI, USA — The WBSC has announced the nations and schedule for the playoffs at the 2016 Junior Men’s Softball World Championship. Eight nations remain in the hunt for the Gold Medal with the 36-game round robin portion of the world championship complete.
Following the four-day round robin stage in the under-19 men’s softball flagship event, eight nations (the top four nations from each pool) have advanced into a Double-Page Playoff beginning tomorrow to determine the 2016 Junior Men’s Softball World Champion.
The national teams to survive through into the Playoffs include:
- No. 1 New Zealand
- No. 2 Canada
- No. 3 Australia
- No. 5 Japan
- No. 6 Argentina
- No. 7 United States
- No. 7 Czech Republic
- No. 10 Mexico
The bottom two teams in each pool have been eliminated from medal contention but will continue in a Single-Page Playoff to determine final standing.
Argentina and United States finished in the top two slots respectively in Pool A, while Japan and New Zealand completed atop Pool B. These four nations will be given two lives in the playoff round, while Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, and Mexico have one life.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UPS (Championship Round)
The first four match-ups for the playoffs have been determined with each medal contender playing tomorrow, 28 July.
12:00pm: Australia vs. Mexico
2:30pm: Canada vs. Czech Republic
5:00pm: Argentina vs. New Zealand
7:30pm: United States vs. Japan
PLACEMENT ROUND
1:00pm: Botswana vs. Israel
3:30pm: Denmark vs. South Africa
The playoffs will continue 29 July, beginning at 12:00pm.
The gold medal game will take centre stage on 30 July at 7:00pm, and will be preceded by the bronze medal match at 1:30pm.
Twelve countries representing the five regions are competing for the world’s top prize in softball within the U-19 men’s category.
Argentina is seeking their third title, after capturing gold medals in Whitehorse, Canada, in 2014 and Parana, Argentina, in 2012. Current men’s world No.1 New Zealand claimed the silver medal in 2014. Asia powerhouse — Japan — earned the bronze medal in Whitehorse and the silver medal in Parana.
Continued coverage of the 2016 Junior Men’s Softball World Championship, including free live web-streaming, is available via 2016jmwc.com.