Press Release World Baseball Softball Confederation
LANT CITY, FL (USA) — The World Baseball Softball Confederation today announced the official game schedule for the 11th edition of the WBSC Junior Men’s Softball World Championship, to be held 24-30 July in the United States, in Midland, Michigan.
The 13-nation international youth softball flagship event will feature 52 total games, beginning with a 36-game round-robin, followed by 10 playoff games (double page playoff system). Six placement games will also be staged to determine the final standings.
Junior National Teams from all regions of the globe (Africa, Asia, Europe, North- Central, and South Americas, and Oceania) will unite on the two competition fields at the historic Emerson Park and Currie Stadium.
All 13 nations will be in action on opening day, with world No. 7 United States and the African nation of Botswana officially setting off the world championship tournament on Sunday, 24 July at 09:30.
Opening ceremonies will begin at 18:30 at the main competition field, which will be followed by host United States meeting the two-time defending champions, Argentina.
The gold medal world championship final will be contested at Currie Stadium at 19:00 on 30 July, while the bronze medal match will be staged at 13:30.
Pools and Tournament Format
The 13 national teams competing have been delegated to their respective pools and will begin the world championship tournament with a single round-robin.
Pool A: Argentina, Australia, United States, Czech Republic, Denmark, Botswana, and Venezuela
Pool B: New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, and Israel
The top four teams from each pool will advance into a double-page playoff system.
Argentina will head to Midland as the two-time defending U-19 world champions, after having captured gold medals in 2012 and 2014 in Whitehorse, Canada, and Parana, Argentina.
Current men’s softball 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.
Host Team USA has finished in fifth place at the last two editions of the junior men’s world championship.