myworldofbaseball

The World Baseball and Softball Confederation has come out with their rankings of the top world baseball teams. The rankings go 73 deep but below is the top thirteen. The Top 12 teams are invited to the Premier 12, which is an Olympic Qualifier event.

1. United States (5515 points)

2. Japan (5245)

3. Korea (4534)

4. Cuba (3495)

5. Taiwan (3165)

6. Mexico (2672)

7. Netherlands (2263)

8. Australia (2233)

9. Canada (2142)

10. Puerto Rico (1849)

11. Venezuela (1809)

12. Dominican Republic (1481)

13. Panama (1475)

Japan picked up 146 points on the United States to close the gap on first place. Taiwan earned the most points in 2018. Latvia and the British Virgin Islands sit at the bottom of the rankings with one point each.

The United States won their game to stay alive, but Taiwan beat Canada to earn their trip to the gold, busting the hearts of the American girls. The United States will have to be satisfied with a bronze medal match against Canada.

Taiwan 6 Canada 4

Both teams erupted for seven runs in the first inning. When the dust settled Canada had a 4-3 advantage. Amanda Asay had the big hit for Canada with a two run double. Canada collected four of their nine hits in the first frame. Taiwan loaded the bases with one out in the second inning but failed to score. They scored a run in the third after a Canadian error to tie the game. Shih-Yun Lee rapped a single to break a 4-4 tie. Taiwan added another insurance run in the inning and held Canada scoreless after the first inning to come away with the victory.

Taiwan loaded the bases again in the fourth but could not score and put two runners on in both the fifth and sixth innings and again failed to score. They ended the day stranding 14 runners in only six innings, four less than the maximum. Chiao-Yun Huang recovered after a disastrous first inning and went the full seven innings to get the win.

United States 8 Dominican Republic 1

The United States scored six runs in the opening frame to glide to their win. All six runs were scored after two were out. The United States collected four of their seven hits in the first inning and had back to back to back hit batters to circle the bases. The Dominican Republic pitchers drilled six batters in the game. The United States countered with only one hit batsman. Kelsie Whitmore gave up an unearned run in the first inning but went four to get the win.

Japan 10 Venezuela 0

A game Japan did not have to win but they won with ease. Ririka Tabata drove in four runs to lead the Japanese offense. Japan used four different pitchers to prevent Venezuela from scoring, limiting the innings pitched so players could be available for the gold medal game.

Japan has clinched a spot in the Gold bracket with their win over Taiwan. The United States has to hope that Canada can beat Taiwan and the United States must still beat the Dominican Republic to send second place into a three way tie. The goal to break the three way tie is to win by as many runs as possible.

United States 5 Canada 1

Jade Gortarez got things started for the United States in the second inning with a booming three run homer to left field to erase an early 1-0 Canada lead. Megan Baltzell led off the top of the third with a blast over the centerfield wall to make it 4-1. The United States added another run in the third and from there cruised to a win, giving Canada their second loss in the Super Round.

Martina Sementelli gave up a run in the first but then shut down the Canadian bats for five innings. Megan Meidlinger closed out the ninth allowing one hit. In the last six innings Canada could only get one runner as far as second base.

Japan 2 Taiwan 1

In a game to clinch a gold medal appearance Japan squeaked out a victory. Chihiro Funakoshi drove in both runs with a single in the third to erase an early 1-0 Taiwan advantage. Asaka Tsuru tossed four innings of shutout relief to secure the win.

Taiwan scored their lone run in the second when Yu-Ying Hsieh tripled to drive in a run. Hsieh later tried to steal home and was caught stealing. Taiwan loaded the bases in the top of the third but failed to score. They also put two runners on in the top of the seventh but squandered that opportunity as well.

Venezuela 12 Dominican Republic 2

In a battle of the winless Venezuela prevailed. Back to back five run innings in the second and third put the game out of reach. Freymar Suniaga drove in four runs for Venezuela. The 8th and 9th hitters in the order Yohelis Colina and Esquia Rengel each drove in three runs.

Japan 3 United States 0

The United States bats have gone cold facing some of the talented Asian pitching. They scored only three runs when Taiwan upset them in their last game of pool play. In their first game of the Super Round Ayami Soto silenced the United States bats on one single. She went through the minimum 23 hitters in the complete game victory. Megan Baltzell finally touched her for a single in the seventh inning for the lone hit.

Japan scored their three runs early. The first scored on a sacrifice fly in the first inning by Lori Miura. Tomomi Nakada had started the game early with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a ground out.

Sloppy play led to two Japanese runs in the second inning. An error to lead off the inning, stolen base, bunt single and wild pitch scored the first run. Another United States error allowed the second run to score. The loss eliminates the United States from any gold medal participation.

Taiwan 2 Dominican Republic 1

When the Dominican Republic did not score in the top of the eighth after a failed bunt and a ground into double play, Taiwan took advantage. They successfully bunted to move the runners over. The Dominican Republic chose to intentionally walk the next hitter to load the bases, but another walk forced the winning run home to give Taiwan a 2-1 win. Yu-Ying Hsieh pitched all eight innings for Taiwan to get the win.

Canada 5 Venezuela 0

Amanda Asay pitched seven innings of one hit ball to lead Canada to victory. Veronica Boyd drove in the only run Asay needed with a double in the third. Kelsey Lalor drove in a run with a single in the fifth and Katherine Psota put the game away with a two run double in the sixth.

Taiwan upset the United States in pool play and advance to the Super Round undefeated. The one loss they had in pool play was erased because that team did not qualify for the Super Round. This leaves Taiwan and Japan as the only two undefeated teams in the Super Round.

The United States and Canada are tied for second at 1-1, while the Dominican Republic and Venezuela bring up the rear at 0-2.

In the opening Super Round games Taiwan plays Dominican Republic, Canada plays Venezuela and the United States has an opening draw against the favorites Japan. A loss to Japan would knock them out of any gold medal consideration.

There’s a saying - “Chicks dig the long ball”. So do dudes. Megan Baltzwell went deep for the United States for the first homerun in the Women’s World Cup. It gave the women some breathing room, turning a 2-1 game into 3-1 lead over Venezuela. It was the closest a team had gotten to the United States.

Martina Sementelli held the Venezuelans to one run in her six innings of work. Megan Meidlinger pitched the seventh inning to close out the victory. The United States scored two runs in the second inning courtesy of a Jade Gortarez two run single. Venezuela strung together three consecutive singles in the bottom of the second to trim the lead to one, Leonela Reyes driving in the lone run with her single.

Venezuela got seven innings from Kisbel Vizcaya, who restricted the until then powerful United States bats to just five hits. For Venezuela they dropped to 1-2.

Japan got a bit of a scare from Cuba. Maraisy Perez silenced the Japanese bats for the first five innings. Cuba scored their lone run on a steal of home by Katherine Vals in the bottom of the fifth.

Japan finally erupted in the top of the sixth, an RBI double by Lori Miura and an RBI single from Chihiro Funakoshi giving them a 2-1 lead. Miura drove in two more runs in the seventh with a single. Rina Taniyama secured the victory retiring the Cubans in order in the bottom of the seventh.

Taiwan stayed in the super round race with their 13-0 win over Korea, improving their record to 2-1. Chia-Wen Shen drove in three runs with two doubles and Chiao-Yun Huang also drove in three runs.

Puerto Rico stomped over the Netherlands 16-1 to also stay in the Super Round. The Netherlands committed seven errors. Lisandra Berrios drove in five runs for Team Puerto Rico. In addition to the seven errors, the Dutch woman walked 9 batters.

The Dominican Republic crushed Hong Kong 19-1. Yocarla Guerrero drove in four runs for the Dominicans. Kimberly Almonte ran wild around the bases, pilfering four bags and scoring four times without the benefit of a hit.

The Canadians stayed alive with a 9-6 win over the Australians. They scored six runs in the last three innings to eek out their victory. Jenna Flannigan drove in three runs including two in the sixth inning with a double that broke a 6-6 tie.

MVP - Cody Schrier (United States) SS - .476, 2, 8 with 17 runs scored and 4 for 4 in stolen bases

Catcher - Edgar Quero (Cuba) - .400, 0, 6

First Base - Brady House (United States) - .448, 1, 16 with 10 runs scored

Second Base - Seiya Fukuhara (Japan) - .296, 0, 9 with five stolen bases in six attempts

Third Base - Luke Leto (United States) - .364, 0, 9 with three doubles and one triple and 13 runs scored

Shortstop - Reginald Preciado (Panama) - .393, 0, 9

Outfield - Oscar Aude (Dominican Republic) - (.417, 2, 12, 11 runs scored), Luis Durango (Panama) - (.296, 0, 1 with 9 runs scored), Ryan Spikes (United States) - )375, 0, 8

Starting Pitcher - Andrew Painter (United States) - 2-0, 0.70 with 13 whiffs in 10 innings and a .200 opposition average

Relief Pitcher - Alexis Bernal (Panama) - 1-0, 0.68, .152 opposition average and 13 whiffs in 10.1 innings

Designated Hitter - Aoi Sugishita (Japan) - .438, 0, 8

Defensive Player - Kai-Yu Liu (Taiwan) - .059, 0, 2

Others to Applaud Based on Stats

Australia

Jake Burns - .267, 2, 8
Charlie Collins - .412, 2 doubles and 2 triples
Quinn Johnson - .471

Brazil

Pedro Lemos - 2-0, 0.54 18 whiffs in 13 innings and .184 opposition average
Joao Sakurai - 1.31 ERA, 12 K’s and 10 walks in 10.2 innings but a .061 opposition average.

Cuba

Frank Gonzalez - .348, 2 triples, 9 runs scored and 10 RBIs
Brander Guevara - 1-0, 0.66, .189 opposition average

Dominican Republic

Ronny Polanco - .385, 1, 5, 10 runs scored

Japan

Asahi Hanada - .419, 0, 8 with 10 runs scored and four stolen bases in five attempts

Taiwan

Ying-Chieh Mao - .500, 0, 6 with 6 doubles
Ping-En Wu - .474, 0, 5 with two doubles and one triple

United States

Samuel Dutton - 1-0, 0.00 with .143 opposition average.

The United States defeated Japan to set up a Panama versus United States gold medal championship. The two time defending champion Cubans came into the Super Round as the only undefeated team but a third straight loss, this time to Taiwan knocked them out of the medal status. Taiwan will play Japan for the bronze medal.

Taiwan 8 Cuba 5

A tough loss for Cuba will have them go home without any hard wear. Taiwan gave them their third straight defeat, coming back from a 5-0 deficit to score eight in the fourth and fifth innings to seize the victory and earn a spot in the bronze medal game. Yu-Min Lin sprayed three hits to drive in three runs to lead the come back. Chan-I Li also drove in three and scored two runs. Ping-En Wu pitched the last 2.1 innings to earn the save.

Cuba got two hits and two RBIs each from Frank Gonzalez and Leyfi Llanez.

United States 8 Japan 2

Japan took an early 2-0 lead but the United States responded with eight runs in three innings to clinch a gold medal appearance. Cody Schrier has been carrying a hot bat with a homerun and two RBIs to raise his average to .526 with two homeruns and eight RBIs. Brady House drove in three runs with his bases clearing double in the sixth that put the game away. He leads the tournament with 14 RBIs. Ryan Spikes had two hits and two doubles for two RBIs.

The bullpen was lights out for the United States. Samuel Dutton walked just one in his three innings of work and Brady House pitched a perfect seventh to close out the victory. The last time the United States won the gold in the 15 and under was in 2011.

Panama 3 Dominican Republic 2

Panama got their gold medal opportunity with a win over a stubborn Dominican team. Edwin Hidalgo had an RBI single in the second and an RBI double in the fourth to lead the Panama offense. Francisco Cardenas pitched five solid innings, but struggled in the sixth, giving up two runs. Jose Sianca got the last five outs to secure the victory. For Panama this is their first appearance in a gold medal game in the 15 and under.

The United States gave Panama its only loss with a 4-1 win. Taiwan gave the United States it only loss.

A couple upsets and the four 2-1 teams facing off against each other left two teams tied for first, Panama and the United States. Panama shocked Japan with a grand slam proving the difference. The Dominicans upset Taiwan and dropped them out of any gold medal round consideration.

Panama 7 Japan 3

The crowd was barely settled when two Panamanian errors in the first inning gave Japan an early 2-0 lead. Japan also made an error to load the bases in the bottom of the first when Carlos Gonzalez changed the complexion of the game with a grand slam homerun. Japan pulled to within 4-3 but in the fifth Panama put the game away with a three spot.

Eight errors were committed in the game, five of them by Panama. Rance Pinilla retired all ten batters he faced in relief to pick up the win.

United States 10 Cuba 0

The pitching of Joshua Hartle was too much for Cuba. He worked five shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three. Cody Schrier went a perfect 2 for 2 with a triple, homerun and walk to score three times. Joshua Hartle not only pitched a good game but his triple in the third fueled the five run inning by driving in three runs.

Dominican Republic 4 Taiwan 3

The Dominican Republic rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull out a surprise win over Taiwan. Julio Torres pitched the full seven innings for the Dominicans to get the win.

Cuba went into the Super Round as the only undefeated team. After their opening match against Panama they are no longer undefeated. Japan and United States wins make it a four way tie for first.

Panama 4 Cuba 2

Reginald Preciado roped a two run double to drive in two runs in the top of the seventh to break a 2-2 tie. A third runner was thrown out at home to end the inning with Panama leading 4-2. Preciado had driven in a run in the third inning on a ground out.

Cuba came back and loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Gabriel Agrazal was able to get a strikeout and ground out to preserve the victory.

Japan 5 Taiwan 2

Japan rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to down Taiwan. A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out. Reiya Saka was hit by a pitch to force in a run and tie the score at 2-2. A ground out when Taiwan could not turn a double play allowed the go ahead run to score. RBI singles from Aoi Sugishita and Asahi Hanada extended the lead. Hanada finished the game with three hits and two RBIs.

Yu-Min Lin shut down the Japan bats for the first five innings, allowing just four hits on one run while striking out nine. When Taiwan went to the bullpen chaos broke loose.

United States 13 Dominican Republic 7

The Dominican Republic jumped to an early 3-0 lead but then the United States bats got hot, scoring 13 runs in the second through fifth innings. No bat was hotter than Luke Leto who finished the game a homerun short of the cycle going 3 for 3 with four runs scored and two RBIs. The Dominican pitchers walked 9 hitters to give the United States baserunners to drive in.