On the last day of play at the tournament, the two European teams at the Under-12 Baseball World Cup finally faced each other, as Czech Republic and Germany locked horns for bragging rights at the U12 European baseball age level, while South Africa finished on a difficult note. Elsewhere, the U.S.A. and Japan battled for the U12 World Cup title, and Taiwan and South Korea aimed for medals.
The Czechs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, with Jakub Kubát knocking a RBI-single after a series of walks, a hit batter, and two wild pitches scored two. Germany immediately answered, with Jona Butt hitting a leadoff single and scoring on a two-out grounder from Tim Krüger.
David Štěpáník provoked a rally for the Czechs in reply, singling with two out in the bottom of the second. He then moved to third on an errant pickoff throw before stealing home to give the Czechs a 4-1 advantage.
After a scoreless third, Butt walked to lead off Germany’s fourth, stealing third after a walk, then crossing home on a base knock by Erik Hedtler. In the bottom of the inning, David Benda walked, moving to second on a single by Štěpáník, before Teodor Svoboda bunted his way to first. Denis Rambousek then drove a ball to right, with an error by the rightfielder leading to two runs scoring. A wild pitch, a missed third strike, and a groundball each scored a run, and suddenly the young Czech baseball team held a 9-2 lead.
The Czechs would walk off the game in the fifth, with two walks and a hit batter loading the bases. After a run-scoring free pass to Benda, Rambousek once more came up clutch, ripping a double to right-center to end the game via mercy rule. Jeroným Bartulík earned the win with three innings to start, with Martin Tretera registering a save with two shutout innings to finish.
South Africa finished its tournament with a tough assignment against Cuba, which continued its late-found dominance, finishing with five consecutive victories after starting 0-3. The Cubans mercifully ended the game early after one run in the first, four in the second, and a jaw-dropping 15 in the third. José Padrón tossed the sixth no-hitter of the Under-12 Baseball World Cup, striking out seven in four frames. The right-hander finished the tourney with 6.2 scoreless innings and only one hit allowed.
Australia and Panamá both came in with a shot at eighth place out of 12, and the game was even at two in the middle of the fourth. The Central Americans then unleashed a nine-run drubbing, finishing with a walk-off 13-3 win on mercy rule.
Medal Round
The bronze medal game was a thriller, as befitted a matchup between South Korea and Taiwan, one of only two countries to win one of the eight U12 baseball world championships. The Koreans scored a single run in the third and another in the fifth, making the two runs work, as Yun-seo Kwon tossed a 2-0 shutout. The result was an historic one, as South Korea claimed its first-ever U12 Baseball World Cup medal, while Taiwan was denied a piece of silverware for the first time in eight attempts.
Japan started bravely against the heavyweight U.S. team, posting a run in the game’s opening frame. However, the Americans immediately answered with three of their own. The 3-1 score would remain until the U.S.A. added one in the fourth, putting the game out of reach with three in the fifth. The 7-1 three-hitter gave the U.S. its sixth Under-12 world baseball title in seven attempts, whilst Japan added its second silver medal and third-overall piece of hardware.
Super Round
In remaining Super Round action as a result of rain, the Dominican Republic finished on a high note, taking a 9-0 lead against Mexico, eventually winning 9-4. The result was crucial for the team’s slots in the WBSC world rankings, as the Dominican Republic recovered from four losses against the other Super Round teams to break a tie with Mexico and finish fifth, with Mexico coming one spot lower.
Stats
The Tournament MVP was the U.S.A.’s Christopher Chikodroff, who led the tournament in multiple hitting categories (among players with 10 at bats or more): average (.533), hits (16), doubles (5), and at bats (30). He was tied for second in total bases (21), tied for third in RBI (10), and fourth in runs (11). No European or African players joined him on the All-World Team.
Several European hitters had strong tournaments, however, especially Czech Republic’s Denis Rambousek, who tied for third in doubles (3) and tied for No. 11 in hits (8), all the while slashing .364/.417/.500 with only one strikeout in 24 plate appearances. Jakub Kubát (5-for-9, a 2B, and three stolen bases) also swung a strong bat for Czech Baseball, if in fewer opportunities. Germany’s top hitter was Jonah Rousseau, who went 5-for-13 (.385) with two walks, while Evan Grobler (1-for-4, two walks) led South Africa.
Jeroným Bartulík was the top European pitcher, toeing the rubber for the Czechs in four games and finishing tied for fifth in the U12 Baseball World Cup in appearances and tied for sixth in strikeouts (10). He held batters to a puny .172/.333/.172 line with a 5.87 ERA* and 1.57 WHIP. Teammate Martin Tretera tied for the tournament lead in games pitched (5), striking out seven in 6.1 innings with a 5.68 ERA* and 2.05 WHIP.
Felix Kaneko led German in innings (8), batting average against (.297), ERA (5.63*), and WHIP (1.88). South Africa’s Kaleb Amos had the most success for his team, striking out three in 4.1 innings and allowing only two earned runs (4.15 ERA*).
*The WBSC incorrectly calculates ERA in all competitions that play fewer than nine innings, so official tallies will be lower than these.
Final Standings
U.S.A.: 8-1
Japan: 6-3
South Korea: 7-2
Taiwan: 6-3
Dominican Republic: 4-4
Mexico: 4-4
Cuba: 5-3
Panamá: 3-4
Australia: 2-5
Czech Republic: 2-6
Germany: 1-6
South Africa: 0-7
Consolation Round Standings
Cuba: 5-0
Panamá: 3-1
Australia: 2-2
Czech Republic: 2-3
Germany: 1-3
South Africa: 0-4
Super Round Standings
U.S.A.: 4-1
Japan: 3-2
South Korea: 3-2
Taiwan: 2-3
Mexico: 1-3
Dominican Republic: 0-4
For more on the U12 Baseball World Cup, see our 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], Day 7 results [link], and Day 8 results [link].