Hosts Mexico beat USA 8-1 in five innings in front of a passionate 1,500-fan crowd at the Fernando Ortiz Stadium to be the only unbeaten side after the first day of the Super Round of the WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup on Thursday.
A grand slam from David Diaz, who was named Player of Day, and a two-hit outing from Carlos Parra led Mexico to a key win in their quest to qualify for Sunday’s World Championship Final.
| New Zealand vs Colombia | 17 – 5 | Box score |
| Venezuela vs Australia | 3 – 4 | Box score |
| Czechia vs Argentina | 9 – 1 | Box score |
| Canada vs Japan | 3 – 4 | Box score |
| Mexico vs USA | 8 – 1 | Box score |
Mexico now sit with a 3-0 win-loss record followed by Japan, who beat Canada 4-1, and USA who both have a two-win, one-loss record.
Australia pipped Venezuela, 4-3, to keep their medal chances alive as they sit fourth with Canada at 1-2 while Venezuela are at 0-3.
Meanwhile, in the Placement Round, New Zealand beat Colombia 17-5 while Czechia proved too good for Argentina, winning 9-2.
Japan opened the Super Round with a 4-1 win over Canada. Three runs in the bottom of the second gave Japanese pitcher Rio Takahashi a three-run lead that proved enough to earn the win.
Canada reduced the deficit to two runs in the top of the sixth, with a no-doubter from Alexander McGillivray, to make it 3-1. But in the bottom half of the same inning Kazuya Kihara recovered the three-run lead for Japan.
A four-run frame marked the difference for Australia in their 4-3 win against Venezuela in the first game of the Super Round. The Aussies recovered from a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four times to take the lead and never looked back. A clutch two-RBI single off the bat of Coby White was the difference in the game.
Fans around the world can watch all the action on GameTime. The WBSC OTT platform offers Tournament and Daily Passes to watch the WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup.
Credit: WSBC