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Below are the names of the players who made the All Tournament Team in the Under 23 World Cup.

Catcher - Orlando Pina (Mexico) .320, 2, 8
First Base - Hisanori Yasuda (japan) .393, 1, 8 MVP
Second Base - Brailan Perez (Colombia) .462, 0, 5 with two triples and 4 stolen bases
Third Base - Dervin Pomare (Colombia) .522, 1, 10 with a 1.368 OPS
Shortstop - Jorna Rodriguez (Venezuela) .333, 0, 3
Outfield - Norberto Obeso (Mexico) .500, 0, 5 with 5 doubles, 1.363 OPS
Outfield - Carlos Vidal (Colombia) .387, 1, 7
Outfield - Bojarski Ulrich (Australia) .379, 4, 11 with 1.297 OPS
Designated Hitter - Leandro Cedeno (Venezuela).306, 2, 10
Starting Pitcher - Francisco Haro (Mexico) 2-0, 1.93 with 18 whiffs in 14 innings
Best Relief Pitcher - Kakeru Narita (Japan) 1-1, 1.17 with 1 save

Other Players Worth Note

Australia

Jack Barrie - .391, 3, 8
Mitchell Warke-Edwards - .500, 2, 6 with 1.200 slugging and 1.783 OPS

Colombia

Juan Zabala - .417, 1, 7
Juan Escorcia - 0.90 ERA with 14 whiffs in 10 IP
Reiver SanMartin - 1-0, 0.82, .179 opponent average

Czech Republic

Martin Muzik - .250, 2, 7

Dominican Republic

Claudio Galva - 0.00 ERA, 11 whiffs in 9 innings, .097 opponent average
Raffi Vizcaino - 0.00 ERA, .105 opponent average

Japan

Kairi Shimada - .344, 1, 1 with 12 runs scored with 5 stolen bases
Yasuhito Uchida - .233, 3, 8
Hiroki Kondo - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 17 whiffs in 15 innings, .189 opponent average
Kosuke Sakaguchi - 1-0, 0.77, 16 whiffs in 11.2 innings, .179 opponent average
Soichiro Yamazaki - 1-0, 0.00, .194 opponent average

Korea

Chan-Hyung Kim - .286, 3, 9
Min-Hyeok Kim - .367, 2, 7
Dong-Hui Han - .324, 2, 7 with 12 runs scored
Jin-Won Ye - .410, 0, 4
Sung-Young Choi - 2-1, 2.31, 13 whiffs in 11.2 innings, .171 opponent average
Sang-Hyun Jeon - 2-0, 1.80, .206 opponent average

Mexico

Roberto Valenzuela - .263, 3, 9 with 3 stolen bases

Netherlands

Sherton Apostel - .375, 2, 9
Francinel Martina - .367, 1, 7

Puerto Rico

Isan Diaz - .214, 4, 5 with 8 runs scored
Jonathan Bermudez - 0.00 ERA, 10 whiffs in 7 innings pitched, .048 opponent average
Sidney Duprey - 1-1, 1.04, 11 whiffs in 8.2 innings
Luis Sanchez - 1.17, 1 save, .125 opponent average

South Africa

Tyler Smith - .433, 0, 4

Taiwan

Wei-Han Hong - .367, 0, 1, .472 OBA
Liang-Chih Chen - 0.60, .196 opponent average

Venezuela

Anthony Concepcion - .346, 1, 6
Carlos Machado - .429, 0, 5
Jesus Lujano - .400, 0, 5
Yonny Hernandez - .200, 0, 2 with 6 stolen bases
Nivaldo Rodriguez - 0.00 ERA, .077 opponent average

The Netherlands won their first game, upsetting Taiwan and the Czech Republic almost shocked the Dominican Republic. Five of the six teams have advanced to the Super Round.

Venezuela 9 Korea 2

The two teams will advance to the Super Round, but Venezuela will advance with no losses while Korea will carry over two losses. And the domination they received at the hands of Venezuela. Nivaldo Rodriguez shutout Korea on two hits for four innings. The Koreans were able to pull to within 3-2 against the Venezuelan bullpen in the sixth. Jose Rodriguez shut them out for the final 3.2 innings. In total the Venezuelan pitchers finished the game with 14 strikeouts.

The Venezuelans were able to spray 13 hits and six walks into nine runs. The top two hitters in the lineup, Yonny Hernandez and Jesus Lujano led the charge with two RBIs each. Hernandez and Carlos Machado led all players with three hits each. Of the 13 Venezuelan hits, only one went for extra bases.

Sung-Ju Moon led Korea with three of their seven hits and drove in both runs with a double.

Japan 7 Colombia 2

Japan remained undefeated with their win over Colombia. Colombia must still beat Taiwan in a makeup game to hope to advance. Colombia scored first to take an early 1-0 lead. Two three run innings, one in the third and another in the seventh was too much for Colombia. Taiga Matsuo got the big hit for Japan with his two run triple in the third to give Japan a 2-1 lead. He later scored on a wild pitch. Hisanori Yasuda also drove in two runs with two sacrifice flies, one in the seventh and the other in the ninth.

Dominican Republic 9 Czech Republic 8

The Dominicans advanced to the super round with a wild win over the Czechs. In the tenth they scored two runs to win the game. Jeison Guzman is credited with the walk off single to give the Dominicans the win. The Czechs remain winless.

The Dominicans had jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after two and all seemed cool after that. Hansel Moreno punched a two run shot in the third and Wendell Rijo went solo. In the fifth Martin Muzik finished off the five run fifth with a three run homer and the game was tied 5-5. The Dominicans called on Eduardo del Rosario to finish the game, throwing 3.2 innings of almost shutout ball. He gave up one unearned run in the 10th on a wild pitch. In extra innings in international play runners are placed on first and second to begin the inning.

Netherlands 10 Taiwan 9

The Netherlands diminished Taiwan’s chances of advancing to the Super Round. They must now beat Colombia to have any hope of advancing. Like the Dominican game, the Netherlands scored two runs in the bottom of the tenth to win the game. The last run was scored when Tijmen Takke was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Taiwan chose to walk Sherton Apostel to load the bases and face Takke, who had come in the game as a pinch runner. Apostel was 3 for 5 with two doubles, a homerun and four RBIs.

Netherlands had jumped out to an early 5-0 lead but could not hold it.

Mexico 13 South Africa 3

Mexico advanced to the Super Round. South Africa scored their first runs of the tournament. Both teams were happy. Roberto Valenzuela and Orlando Pina both went deep, each with their second homeruns of the tournament. The two combined to drive in seven of the 13 runs for Mexico.

Puerto Rico 3 Australia 2

Puerto Rico knocked Australia out of the Super Round with the win. At 2-3 Puerto Rico fails to advance as well. Isan Diaz drove in all the runs for Puerto Rico with two homeruns. He hit a solo shot in the third and a two run blast in the fifth. He came into the game 1 for 12. Luis Sanchez pitched two perfect innings to stamp out the victory and eliminate Australia from the Super Round.

Only Japan and Venezuela remain undefeated after the fourth day. Japan seems to do it with their pitching while Venezuela relies on their bats.

Japan 5 Netherlands 0

Japan completed their second shutout of the tournament. The European teams remain winless in these events. Hiroki Konda dominated in seven innings, striking out 12 and allowing just three hits. Japan scored all five of their runs in the first, taking advantage of three walks then coasted the rest of the way. Taiga Matsuo drove in two runs with his triple and Hisanori Yasuda drove in two with a single.

Venezuela 7 Dominican Republic 2

Venezuela knocked off a tough Dominican team to remain undefeated. For the Dominicans it is their second loss. They scored both their runs in the second inning on a two run homer by Martin Taveras, his second of the tournament. Ivan Andueza came on in relief after the third inning and held the Dominicans hitless for six innings, striking out 10 and walking two. Carlos Machado hit a two run single in a three run first, which Andueza confirmed was all the runs the Venezuelans needed. Jorna Rodriguez finished a perfect 3 for 3 hitting from the ninth spot in the order with three runs scored. He also stole two bases.

Korea 14 Australia 7

Korea got a big win to take over second place in pool two, tacking a second loss to Australia’s ledger. Australia scored six in the opening frame but could not hold the lead. They again got big production from the bottom of their order, with number eight hitter Mitchel Warke-Edwards going deep twice, once in the first inning with a three run blast and again in the sixth with a solo shot.

Korea bounced back in the second inning with eight runs. Chan-Hyung Kim hit the first of his two homeruns in the inning, a grand slam to pull Korea to within one. Gyeong-Won Jun hit a two run double in the inning to put Korea up 7-6. Kim blasted another homer in the eighth, a two run bomb to give him six RBIs for the game. Dong-Hui Han sealed the victory with his three run homer in the seventh. He finished the day 3 for 4 with three runs scored.

Taiwan 12 South Africa 0

Taiwan got their first win and South Africa extended their scoreless streak to 0 for the tournament. Yun-Chen Tai walloped a grand slam homer in an eight run third that put the game out of reach.

Mexico 7 Colombia 6

Mexico got a big win giving Colombia their first loss. It also put them in second place at 3-1. Mexico had jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. Carlos Morales had pitched five shutout innings. He was taken out in the sixth after issuing a one out walk. The bullpen coughed up the lead in the seventh, giving up five runs. Derwin Pomare got the big hit, a bases clearing double that drove in three. Pomare finished the day with four RBIs, delivering an RBI single in the sixth that gave Colombia their first run.

Not deterred, Mexico battled back. They scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh on a strikeout/wild pitch, scoring a run without benefit of putting the ball in play. The leadoff hitter walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on a wild pitch. The walks continued to hurt Colombia with another leadoff walk in the eighth scoring on a Roberto Valenzuela triple in right field to give Mexico the lead.

Erick Casillas got credit for the win, working his second inning of relief to close out the victory. He gave up a two out double to Milton Ramos but retired the next hitter on a fly out to end the game.

Puerto Rico 20 Czech Republic 0

Puerto Rico got their first win, their bats taking it out on the winless Czechs. The game only went five as Puerto Rico scored in every inning. Gabriel Cancel was the big bat with six RBIs, including a three run homer in the first. Xavier Fernandez clubbed a solo shot in the first, finishing the day 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Lean Marrero and Aldemar Burgos each crossed the plate four times.

Rain forced the postponement of the Netherlands/South Africa and Taiwan/Colombia games. The other games were played with the only minor upset the Australian win over previously undefeated Dominican Republic.

Australia 4 Dominican Republic 3

Australia got back in the super round playoff race winning their second game of pool play over the previously undefeated Dominican Republic. They scored all their runs in the fourth inning with Jordan McArdle getting the big hit with his three run homerun. Australia has now gotten three homeruns from their 8th and 9th hitters in the order.

Martin Taveras got the scoring going for the Dominican Republic in the second with a solo shot. He added a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth to give the Dominicans an early 2-0 lead, but they could not hold it.

Jack Enciondo pitched the ninth inning to close out the victory, though he did give up a deep fly to left that left some Aussie fans squirming in their seats.

Japan 7 Mexico 2

Japan won the battle of the undefeateds. Yasuhito Uchida hit his second homerun of the tournament, a three run blast in the first inning to get things started for Japan and score all the runs they needed to win the game.

Mexico got a solo shot from Bernardo Heras in the fourth, but needed a lot more to win this game.

Korea 6 Puerto Rico 3

Korea won their second game, knocking Puerto Rico out of any chance of getting to the super round. Sang-Hyun Jeon had trouble finding the plate, walking five, but allowed just one run in his five innings of work. Jin-Won Ye, Kyeong-Tae Hwang and Chan-Hyung Kim each led the offense with three hits each. Ye drove in two runs and scored one from the leadoff spot and Hwang also drove in two and scored once. Jung-Yong Yi worked the last two innings to complete the save.

Puerto Rico had scored first on a solo shot from Emmanuel Rivera in the opening frame.

Venezuela 8 Czech Republic 2

Venezuela remained undefeated, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to easily defeat the Czech Republic. For the Czechs they remain winless and are eliminated from advancing to the Super Round. The Venezuelan pitchers were a bit wild, walking nine hitters but the Czechs stranded 12 runners, not taking advantage of their opportunities.

Leandro Cedeno and Joscar Alvarez hit solo shots for Venezuela. Cedeno’s homerun in the four run sixth broke a 2-2 tie. Cruz Noriega pitched the last three innings to earn the save.

The Dominicans are normally not that competitive in international events, except in the World Baseball Classic when they can use their major leaguers. This tournament could be the exception as they beat the Koreans, one of the favored teams in this event for their second victory.

Dominican Republic 8 Korea 2

Michael Santos shutout the Koreans for the first four innings, limiting them to two hits before a rain delay forced the Dominicans to go to their bullpen. Edwin Adon struck out seven in his 3.2 shutout innings. That left it to the bats, who raked 13 hits off the Korean pitchers to win the game.

Won-Joon Lee did not allow a hit to the Dominicans in the first four innings. He struck out seven and allowed just one walk through the first four. He walked the leadoff hitter he faced in the fifth inning and then the game was interrupted by rain. The Koreans went to their pen and it got ugly. The Dominicans scored three in the fifth and one run in every inning except the eighth.

Eguy Rosario hit a solo shot for the Dominicans in the seventh. It was the first loss for the Koreans but the second win for the Dominicans.

Japan 3 Taiwan 1

Japan got seven innings of shutout pitching from Atsuki Taneichi. He struck out nine and gave up just four hits. Hisanori Yasuda gave the Japanese all the runs they needed with a two run blast in the third. Taiwan scored their only run in the bottom of the ninth on a solo homerun from Li Cheng-En.

For Japan it was their second win. The loss dropped Taiwan to 0-2.

Australia 5 Czech Republic 3

Australia got its first win led by Ulrich Bojarski, who hit his second homerun of the tournament. His two run blast in the second inning proved to be the difference in the game. Nicholas Hutchings worked until the seventh inning to get the win, allowing three unearned runs and striking out seven. The Czech Republic is now winless in two games.

Mexico 14 Netherlands 7

Tough day for the Europeans. Mexico slugged four homeruns and collected 16 hits to put a bruising on the Dutch pitchers. Roberto Valenzuela and Orlando Pina tagged solo shots while Fabricio Macias and Jose Urena hit two run bombs. Macias and Urena finished with three RBIs each, while Macias also scored three times.

Netherlands had a 3-2 lead after the first. Urena hit his two run homerun in the fourth to give Mexico a lead they would not relinquish. They go to 2-0 while the Dutch drop to 0-2.

Colombia 11 South Africa 0

The hosts win again. The South Africans failed to score again. They could only get two hits off Hugo Beltran (3.2 innings) and Sergio Palacio (3.1 innings) who split the mound duties. Leandro Emiliani went a perfect 2 for 2 with a sacrifice fly and a two run homer.

Venezuela 7 Puerto Rico 2

Venezuela won their second while Puerto Rico lost their second. Yoel Romero hit a two run single in the top of the fifth to give Venezuela a 2-1 lead. Anthony Concepcion extended that lead to 3-1 with a solo bop in the sixth. Venezuela put the game away in the seventh when they tacked on three runs while getting just one hit. Five Puerto Rican errors allowed four unearned runs to score.

The United States and Cuba are absent from these games, but that gives other countries an opportunity to participate. Below are the results of the games from the first day.

Japan 13 South Africa 0

Japan dominated as they were expected to do against the inexperience of the South Africans. Soichiro Yamazaki got the start for Japan and limited the South Africans to two hits in six shutout innings. Ryosuke Kishisato went deep with a two run homer to close out a five run fifth. Kengo Horiuchi was the big run producer, driving in three with a two run single in the first to get the scoring started and an RBI single in the third to make the score 4-0.

Other homeruns for Japan included a two run shot from Ukyo Shuto in the fifth and a solo blast from Yasuhito Uchida in the sixth. Kairi Shimada hit an inside the park homerun in the sixth. Shimada also led all players with three runs scored.

Mexico 2 Taiwan 1

Mexico scored two runs in the first inning on a two run single from Omar Garcia and made it hold out in their victory. Luis Rodriguez pitched five innings, allowing just the one Taiwan run in the fourth. Four different pitchers closed out the final four innings with Erick Casillas getting the save with a scoreless ninth.

Liang-Chi Chen came on in the second inning and pitched 6.2 scoreless innings to keep Taiwan in the game. They had an opportunity to win the game in the seventh and the ninth innings. In the seventh they loaded the bases with two outs but pinch hitter Wen-Hsien Chang flied out to center. In the ninth Taiwan put runners at first and second with one out, but Casillas struck out the last two hitters to preserve the win.

Venezuela 4 Australia 2

Venezuela got the win banging out 13 hits, Leandro Cedeno leading the charge with three. Juan Yepez got the big hit with an RBI single in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie. Christian Mejias picked up the save working the last three innings.

Australia scored two runs, both on solo homeruns. The first from Jess Williams in the sixth to tie the game at 1-1. The second from Ulrich Bojarski in the ninth.

Korea 14 Czech Republic 3

When the Czech Republic scored three runs in the top of the fourth they took a 3-1 lead. The bats of Korea then came alive, scoring 13 runs in the last four innings to get the win. Hyo-seung Ryu tied the game with his two run blast in the bottom of the fourth. A Ji-Hoon Choi three run triple in the fifth broke the tie. Dong-Hui Han added a solo shot in the sixth and Min-Hyeok Kim crushed a three run job in the seventh to end the game via the slaughter rule. Kim and Ryu led all hitters with four RBIs each.

Dominican Republic 9 Puerto Rico 6

In a game between island neighbors the Dominican Republic reigned supreme. Puerto Rico rallied for three in the eighth but fell short of an opening round win. Jeison Guzman, Andretty Cordero and Julio Rodriguez each contributed two run homers to fuel the offense in the victory.

Puerto Rico brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning with two out, but Eduardo del Rosario got the big whiff to end the game.

Colombia 9 Netherlands 5

The hosts won their opener to make the fans happy. Francinel Martina blasted a three run homer for the Netherlands in the eighth to erase a 8-1 Colombia lead and make the game competitive again. Reiver San Martin pitched six strong innings for Colombia, allowing just one run. Jhon Torres drove in three runs for Colombia with a ground out in the first, a solo job in the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

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 World Select Team will be competing in the Arizona Fall Classic that will be held from October 10-14. There are 61 different teams competing in this event, including teams from Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Below are the names of the players from MLB World Select Team and the country they represent. A player from Uganda is participating.

Pitchers

Dennis Achidri (Uganda), Jiorgeny Casimiri (Netherlands), Daniele Di Monte (Italy), Liam Evans (Australia), Mathias Gonzalez (Ecuador), Jake Green (Australia), Lukas Hlouch (Czech Republic), Ky Jackson (Australia), Will Kortekaas (Australia), Luke Krkovski (Australia), Sebastian Munoz (Ecuador), Daniel Padysak (Czech Republic), Sue Sun (China), Angelo Wicklert (Netherlands)

Catchers

Ricardo Bertossi (Italy), Chris Burke (Australia), Fabian Kovacs (France)

Infielders

Travis Bazzana (Australia), Finn Bergmann (Germany), Denzel Bryson (Netherlands), Liam MacDonald (Australia), Luke November (South Africa), Delano Seiassa (Netherlands), Sunny Yang (China)

Outfielders

Jarrod Belbin (Australia), Paolo Brossier (France), Correze Nepia (New Zealand), Jaylin Rae (Australia), Brock Wells (Australia), Tyson Zamora (Australia), Ruendrick Piternella (Netherlands)

These players range in age from 16 to 20. Not only will they be performing before major league scouts, but also college scouts.

The 18 and under World Cup will be played in Gijang, Korea in 2019. The first two qualifiers for that tournament were from Europe, Netherlands and Spain. The Asia qualifiers have finished and the three dragons have advanced.

Korea won the 18 year old qualifiers held in Miyazaki, Japan, defeating Taiwan in the finals 7-5. The game went into extra innings after Taiwan scored a run in the ninth to tie. Japan had to settle for third place after their 14-1 victory over China.

Korea and Japan seem to be leap frogging the 18 and under championships, with Korea winning in 2009 followed by Japan in 2011. Korea took the crown again in 2014 but Japan followed by recapturing the championship in 2016. Taiwan has finished in second place for consecutive tournaments. The last time they won an 18 and under Asian championship was in 2007.

The last time any team other than Korea, Japan or Taiwan has finished in the top two was in 1994 when Australia finished second. That was the first recorded 18 and under championship. Australia now competes in the Oceania region. China, Philippines and Thailand are the teams that fill the fourth spot.

There is some talk of a team from the Australian Baseball League (ABL) joining the China Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. The first step would be for the ABL team to play in the minor leagues but eventually advance to the major league. It is hoped that negotiations can be completed so that this ABL team can play next year for the 2019 season.

Taiwan has been seeking to add the number of teams to their professional league. Currently they have four teams. Adding one more team would give them an odd number so a sixth team would be ideal to balance the schedule. Another issue to work out is the number of Taiwan players to play on the team and whether the Australian team would have access to Taiwanese players through the draft. Currently three foreigners are allowed to play for each team in the CPBL and for the most part the three players fill the starting rotation.

The ABL has added two foreign teams to their league in the fall. A team from Korea and another from New Zealand will play in the ABL this fall.