The medal game participants have been confirmed at the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Finals 2025 in Prince Albert, Canada following the conclusion of the Super Round on Saturday with seven-time champions New Zealand taking on Venezuela in the final on Sunday at 14:00 (local time). It’s a rematch of the World Championship Final in 2013, when New Zealand defeated Venezuela. USA and Japan will play the Bronze Medal Game at 11:00.
On the last day of the Super Round, Venezuela defeated USA 6-4 and closed the round with a 2-1 record. In the final game, New Zealand beat Japan 8-3, forcing a three-way tie at the top of the standings between Venezuela, New Zealand, and Japan. Venezuela and New Zealand advanced to the Final based on the tie-break.
Meanwhile, in the Placement Round, Argentina defeated the Dominican Republic, 11-6, while Canada closed their participation with a dominant 14-2 win over defending champions Australia. With these results, Canada, Argentina, and Australia all finished with a 2-1 record. However, based on the tie-break system, Canada placed fifth, Argentina sixth, and Australia seventh. The Dominican Republic concluded the tournament in eighth place.
Sunday’s final will be a rematch of the 2013 World Championship Final, where New Zealand defeated Venezuela, 4-1. The game was played on 10 March, 2013 in front of a fully packed Rosedale Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
Twelve years ago, the Black Sox captain, Rhys Casley, drove in Brad Rona and Daniel Milne for the go-ahead runs in the third inning. Jeremy Manley pitched the entire game to get the win. Venezuelan catcher Rafael Flores, who talked with WBSC on Thursday, is the only survivor of this game in Sunday’s final; while New Zealand head coach Thomas Makea won his fourth world title as a player in 2013.
World No. 5 Venezuela beat No. 8 New Zealand 7-2 on the last day of the Opening Round on Thursday to confirm both sides as the top two teams in Group A to advance to the Super Round, having won two games and suffered one loss each.
Sunday’s final marks Venezuela’s second appearance in a World Championship Final, following their previous participation in 2013. With this result, they have secured their third medal in the event, the last one being a bronze in 2015.
This year’s final will be New Zealand’s 10th appearance in a World Championship Final. They have won the title six times (1984, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2013, and 2017), and finished runners-up in four editions (1988, 1992, 2009, and 2015). In 1976, they shared the gold medal with Canada and USA, as the playoffs couldn’t be completed.
Between 1984 and 2017, New Zealand reached every Men’s Softball World Cup final (10 in total). They now return to the title game after an eight-year, two-tournament absence.
New Zealand vs Japan – Super Round
Two homers from first baseman Seth Gibson lifted New Zealand past Japan, 8-3, in the last game of the Super Round. Gibson’s dinger in the top of the seventh gave the Black Sox the necessary margin of runs to advance to the World Championship Final on Sunday.
New Zealand jumped ahead in the first inning with four quick runs, and they never looked back. Cole Evans and Gibson hit a two-run homer each to give their pitching staff a key advantage in the game.
Pita Rona was credited with the win after a great outing in relief, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings while striking out three. He gave up only two hits.
USA vs Venezuela – Super Round
Venezuela claimed a 6-4 win and finished the Super Round with a 2-1 record. Angel Adames and Kleiver Rodriguez homered for the winning team, while Maiker Pimentel went the distance allowing four runs on three hits.
The right-handed pitcher from Venezuela didn’t allow a hit in the first five innings of the game, but in the sixth he gave up four runs, including a pair of homers by Jeffrey Lewis and Blaine Milheim.
The losing pitcher for USA was Brad Kilpatrick, who gave up three hits and three runs in 3.1 innings.
Dominican Republic vs Argentina – Placement Round
Ladislao Malarczuk homered twice in the game to propel Argentina to an 11-6 victory against Dominican Republic, closing their participation in the tournament. Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the third, Teo Migliavacca ignited Argentina’s with a solo shot.
With this result, the Dominican Republic finish sixth in the tournament. This is their second best position ever in this competition, as the finished fifth twice in 1984 and 2015.
Argentina finished the Placement Round with a 2-1 record, and will know their final position after the game between Canada and Australia.
Canada vs Australia – Placement Round
Canada exploded for 14 runs on 15 hits over four innings to close out their WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup campaign with a dominant 14-2 victory over Australia. The matchup featured the two finalists from the 2022 edition, this time meeting under very different circumstances.
Mathieu Roy powered the offence with three home runs and eight RBIs, while Blake Hunter added a homer and drove in five runs for the host nation. Ty Sebastian pitched four solid innings, allowing five hits and two runs.
With the win, Canada finished the Placement Round tied with Argentina and Australia at 2-1, but claimed fifth place via the tie-break system, with Argentina finishing sixth and Australia seventh.
Credit: WBSC