U-23 Baseball World Cup Day 2: Japan shut out China, Colombia reverse the lead
Day 2 of the WBSC U-24 Baseball World Cup 2024 opened in Shaoxing with wins by No. 6 Korea over No. 31 South Africa and No. 17 Nicaragua over No. 5 Venezuela.
No. 1 Japan shut out No. 24 China. No. 18 Great Britain and No. 11 Colombia are still on the field.
The nights games are scheduled for 19:00 (local time) and will be No. 10 Puerto Rico-No. 15 Australia and No. 7 Netherlands-No. 3 Chinese Taipei
All Games are Live on GameTime
Standings WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2024
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 |
| 1 |  |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 |
| 3 |  |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 0.5 |
| 3 |  |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 0.5 |
| 5 |  |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1 |
| 5 |  |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1 |
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 |
| 1 |  |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 |
| 3 |  |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1 |
| 4 |  |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1.5 |
| 4 |  |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1.5 |
| 6 |  |
| 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 2 |
Tournament Links
Japan-China 2-0
Japan defeated China in front of a full hous at the end of an old-fashioned pitching duel. Left-handed Kosei Nagakubo was perfect through five innings and went the distance allowing only one hit.
Kosei Nagakubo took the mound for Japan, while China handed the ball to Jian Yi. Japan and China play in front of a full house.
Japan took the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-out RBI single by right-fielder Takankori Takahashi.
Left-hander Wei Zhao took over for Yi in the bottom of the third and struck out the side to begin his effort.
Solid defence kept China in the game also in the fourth inning.
Third baseman Aiqi Zhang led off the sixth with a single through the right side. It was the first hit allowed by Nagakubo.
Japan scored their second run in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out single by third baseman Takanori Takahashi.
GAME REPORT
Great Britain @ Colombia
Manuel Rumbos started for Colombia, while Great Brtain chose Colin Lebel.
Great Britain scored the go-ahead run in the top of the second. Rumbos loaded the bases by hitting a batter and walking two. Reliever Kevin Gomez retired the side in order, but the first out produced a sacrifice fly by Matthew Ward.
Wallace Clark led off the third with a double and scored on a two-out single by Tucker Stockman, giving Great Britain a 2-0 lead.
Colombia got the first hit of their game in the bottom half of the frame. Andres Murillo doubled to score Nolan Beltran from second.
In the top of the fourth Ward hit his second sacrifice fly of the day, scoring Jacob Lambdin and extending Great Britain's lead to 3-1.
Colombia reversed the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Guillermo Quintana led off with a double and scored on a single by Andrey Martinez.
Lebel and his reliever Jacob Lambdin allowed four runs on five walks and Colombia extended the lead to 6-3. Cameron Moore came out of the bullpen and took care of the third out.
Nicaragua-Venezuela 3-2
Junior Ortega and Godwin Bennett had a two-hit game and the defence supported starter Angel Canales with two double plays early in the game as Nicaragua beat Venezuela to stay undefeated.
Angel Canales started for Nicaragua and Venezuela handed the ball to Brayan Medina.
Venezuela missed a bases-loaded opportunity in the top of the first when Pedro Martinez grounded in an inning ending double play.
Nicaragua took the lead in the bottom of the second on two-out base hits by Godwin Bennett (double) and Roger Leyton (single).
Nicaragua executed their second double-play of the day in the top of the third.
Despite that, Venezuela scored, taking advantage of back-to-back two-out walks. Cesar Idrogo provided the RBI single.
In the bottom half of the frame, Nicaragua re-established the gap thanks to Junior Ortega. The leadoff hitter reached on a drag bunt, stole second, advanced to third on the error on the play and scored on a groundout.
Jared Albir took the mound for Nicaragua in the top of the sixth.
Venezuela made it a one-run game in the top of the seventh, when pinch runner Moises Paiva scored on a two-out single by Luis Hernandez.
Nicaragua called Bryan Torres from the bullpen to get the final out. The closer retired Luis Castillo on a grounder to second base and earned the save.
GAME REPORT
Korea-South Africa 6-1
The pitching staff dominated as Korea beat South Africa to earn their second win.
Bryce McCleland started for South Africa and Wonpyo Hond took the mound for Korea.
After two scoreless innings, Korea opened the score in the top of the third scoring five runs on base hits by designated hitter Donghyun Kim and catcher Siang Kim and a two-RBI double by first baseman Daeseon Jeong. South Africa called Keenan Campbell from the bullpen to get out of the at-bat.
Korea added a run in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Daeseon Jeong.
Wonpyo Hong left after three innings, allowing only one hit.
Reliever Jiheon Han pitched an immaculate bottom of the fifth, striking out Kevin Costigan, Ethan Grobler and Sylvester Maredi on nine consecutive strikes.
South Africa's second hit was an RBI double by shortstop Luke November in the bottom of the seventh.
GAME REPORT
- Day 1 Recap
- Pre-Tournament press conference
- Where to watch
- Korea preview
- China preview
- Colombia preview
- Netherlands preview
- Puerto Rico preview
- Chinese Taipei preview
- Great Britain preview
- Venezuela preview
- Nicaragua preview
- Australia preview
- South Africa preview
- Japan preview
- Meet Shiaoxing and Baseball Softball Cultural Centre
- Ten things to know about the 2024 U-23 Baseball World Cup
- U-23 Baseball World Cup by the Numbers
- A historical look at U-23 Baseball World Cup