That's a wrap on the U12 World Cup Oceania Qualifier!
Well done to Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Australia on their excellent efforts over the past few days.
We had some epic games and it was wonderful to see the Oceania baseball community come together in support of some of our youngest baseball stars!
Congratulations to Team Australia on advancing to next year's World Cup!
Catch up on all the results: https://www.wbscoceania.org/en/events/2024-u-12-baseball-wbsc-oceania-qualification-event/schedule-and-results
Check out below recaps via Eric Balnar - baseball.com.au (Australia).
Game 1 – Friday 29 Nov – Australia 26 def North Mariana Islands 1
Game 2 – Sat 30 Nov – Guam 12 def Australia 5
Game 3 – Sat 30 Nov – Australia 19 def North Mariana Islands 6
Game 4 – Sun 1 Dec – Australia 16 def Guam 0
GOLD MEDAL GAME – Australia beats Guam to advance to the 2025 U12 World Cup
The Australian bats came ready to play,
Nine different players had runs for Australia. Eight different players combined for thirteen hits.
Guam scored first, leading 2-0 heading to the bottom of the first.
Then the Australians stormed home. Six in the first, two in the second, five in the third, six in the fourth. All of a sudden, a 19-4 scoreline.
There were numerous impressive offensive performances.
Harvey Ninnis, Jack Clarke, Liam Kelly and Ben Beezley all scored three runs. Clarke, Phillip Toye and Izzy Astill each had two hits.
Phillip Toye led the team with four RBI.
Ezekiel Coughlin and Izaac Johnson each pitched for Australia.
BATTING STATS
2B :(1) CLARKE, Jack
RBI :(1) MCCARTHY, Billy;(1) NEEDS, Koen;(1) MONCRIEFF, Felix;(2) KELLY, Liam;(1) BEVAN, Reef;(1) HARRIS, Jackson;(4) TOYE, Phillip;(1) BEEZLEY, Benjamin;(1) ASTILL, Isaiah;(1) COUGHLIN, Ezekiel;(1) JOHNSON, Izaac
BB :(1) MCCARTHY, Billy;(1) CLARKE, Jack;(3) KELLY, Liam;(1) BEVAN, Reef;(1) TOYE, Phillip;(3) BEEZLEY, Benjamin;(1) ASTILL, Isaiah;(1) COUGHLIN, Ezekiel;(2) JOHNSON, Izaac.
The U12 World Cup will be played in Tainan, Chinese Taipei from July 25 – August 3.
BOX SCORE
Game 4 – Australia defeats Guam to set up a gold medal clash
Australia won a must-win game over Guam to set up a Gold Medal medal at the U12 World Cup Qualifiers.
Preston Taylor pitched all four innings in the Australian win, allowing just one hit. He had four strikeouts and with the bat tallied an RBI.
The game was tied entering the third but Australia put up 14 runs in that inning. They added two more in the fourth before the game was called due to rule rule.
Guam made 15 errors in the loss.
Harvey Ninnis led the team with two hits.
Australia and Guam finish the double round robin tied with a 3-1 record. Tomorrow at 10:30AM local time, 11:30AM in Sydney, Australia will battle for a spot in the U12 World Cup in the Gold Medal Game. Their opponent? Guam.
BOX SCORE
Game 3 – Australia 19 def North Mariana Islands 6
Australia has bounced back after a morning loss with a resounding win.
The Aussies were trailing 3-2 in the second before taking the lead with two runs in the bottom of the frame, and exploding for eight runs in the third.
Reef Bevan and Izaak Johnson each scored three runs. Jack Clarke and Bevan led Australia with two hits apiece.
As a team, Australia combined for eight hits and eight walks.
Australia will need to beat Guam tomorrow to force a Gold Medal Decider Game to see who qualifies for the World Cup.
BOX SCORE
Game 2 – Guam 12 def Australia 5
Australia has dropped a game in the U12 Qualifiers to Guam.
The tournament hosts broke a 2-2 deadlock in the fourth with an RBI from Chad Atalig. Guam scored two in the fourth and five in the fifth to take a commanding 9-2 lead.
Australia fought their hardest to get back in the game, clawing back three runs in the bottom of the fifth. But Guam drew back with three runs of their own.
Phillip Toye, Ben Beezley and Harvey Ninnis had Australia’s hits.
Australia falls to 1-1 at the World Cup Qualifier while Guam improves to 2-0. Australia next plays this afternoon at 2:30PM AEDT vs North Mariana Islands.
Australia will likely need to beat Guam tomorrow afternoon to force a Gold Medal Game decider to advance to the World Cup.
BOX SCORE
Game 1 – Australia 26 def North Mariana Islands 1
An incredible full team effort in their first game together! 15 different Australian players scored a run in a big win to start the tournament.
Brock Harding, Isiah Astill, and Phillip Toye each had two hits as the team combined for 13 base knocks on the afternoon.
Toye led the team with 3 RBI and had a big double.
Izaac Johnson, Preston Taylor and Ezekiel Coughlin each pitched 1.1 innings. Coughlin had three strike outs to lead all Aussie pitchers.
Australia scored six in the first, eleven in the second, and nine in the third.
Australia also took care of the baseball. They only walked two batters while they earned fifteen base on balls as a group when at the plate.
The boys and girls will rest up for a big double-header of game tomorrow.
BOX SCORE & STATS
