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Highlights Czech Republic vs Japan
The preliminary round at the WBSC U15 Baseball World Cup in Iwaki, Japan ended on Tuesday with the last six games. Japan and the USA remained undefeated in pool play, going 5-0 each en route to the Super Round Robin. Both teams will meet on Thursday.
Also advancing are Colombia, Panama, Cuba and Venezuela, making it an Americas vs Samurai Japan duel the rest of the tournament. The usual Asian powerhouses Korea and Chinese Taipei surprisingly missed out on the qualification for the championship phase.
The lone European team in the U15 Baseball World Cup, the Czech Republic, finished in fifth place in Pool A with an 1-4 record. They shut out Australia 10-0 on day two for their lone win in the preliminary phase. Martin Grundmann, Raymond Whitehead and Michael Best each scored three runs for the Czech during the first round. U15 Euros MVP Ondrej Lochman went 4-for-15. Tomas Hrbek pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings against Australia to pick up the win.
Complete information about the U15 Baseball World Cup can be found at www.wbsc.org