By Gabriel Fidler, Managing Editor.
Italy continued its hot streak with a well-played victory over China, while Germany gave Cuba all it could manage. Elsewhere, South Africa got off to a good start against Australia, but fell short in the Southern Hemisphere duel.
China – Italy
Daniele di Persia helped Italy get off to a great start in a matchup against Asia’s fourth-ranked nation, but China showed resilience and made things interesting in a well-pitched game for Italy.
In the bottom of the first, Aldo Pavarani singled to lead off Italy’s half of the inning. Enrico Bicchiarelli and Alessandro Garaviglia walked with two out to load the bases before di Persia stepped up and drilled a two-base hit to right center that emptied the bases.
Italy retained a 3-0 lead into the fourth, when the first batter, Xin Zhao, broke up Mattia Muscio’s no-hitter with a triple to left center. The fleet-footed catcher scored on a single by Zijian Zheng, but Muscio got out of the inning with a K, one of nine he recorded on the day.
The Azzurri answered immediately, with Corrado Resca beaned to start things off, moving to second on a nifty bunt down the third base line by Francesco Carlini, who beat the throw to put two on. Both runners swiped bags to advance, before scoring on a single from Pavarani, who advanced to second on the throw home. Pablo Suárez then dropped a base knock to right center to plate Pavarani, and Italy had a 6-1 lead.
Muscio remained in the game into the sixth, when three of China’s hitters singled consecutively, with a nice throw from Federico de Cristan nailing one at second to slow down the rally. After a walk, Ivan Larice entered and, after allowing a two-run single and a hit by pitch, settled down to get the third out.
Neither side would score in its last half inning, preserving a 6-3 win for Italy, its third on the bounce at the U18 World Cup. Muscio earned the win, allowing three runs on six hits and only two walks in 5.2 innings. Larice gained credit for the save, striking out one in 1.1 frames.
Pavarani had two of Italy’s five hits, also drawing a walk and a hit by pitch in a perfect day at the plate. Suárez collected a hit and a walk, stealing a bag as well. De Cristan made the most of his walk and plunking, stealing three bases. Neither side committed an error, a rarity in the tournament.
As a point of trivia, China may have set a record in the game, as it used seven different players in the five spot in its lineup, subbing out its original third baseman, who later moved to right field, with three pitchers cycling through his spot, as well as a pinch hitter, a pinch runner, and to finish things, a new right fielder.
Germany – Cuba
Germany scored early against Marlon García, making the most of an error that allowed Jakob Huber to reach with one out. A grounder moved him to second and Emilio Götz took advantage, driving a base knock to right field for the RBI. A stolen base by Götz and another error put runners on the corners, but García worked out of the jam with only one run surrendered.
The Black, Red, and Gold took the lead into the bottom of the fourth, when Cuba finally solved starter Matthias Bullmann. To that point, the big right-hander (193 cm/6-foot-4) had allowed only a walk, with his single strikeout on a swing-and-a-miss from Frederich Cepeda Jr., son of the all-time international legend for the Cuban national team. Bullmann fell quickly into trouble in the fourth, however, with a hit batter leading to three runs. Javier Zambrano hit a two-run safety, and Yordan Artiles followed with an RBI-double.
A single from Kyran Norgren and a great managerial decision by Georg Bull set up Germany for immediate revenge in the top of the fifth. After Norgren reached, Jann-Mika Schierhorn entered as a pinch hitter and, on the first pitch, lined a ball deep into right center, speeding around the bases for a run-scoring triple. The next batter, Germany’s sparkplug at the top of the order, Alessandro Carrasquilla, then dropped a ball safely down the right field line to drive in Schierhorn. Leandro Forteza, the new pitcher, would then get the next two outs, but the game was now even.
Reliever Jules Moser entered after Bull’s call to the bullpen, and struck out the first batter, but a triple from Leandro Pérez spelled trouble. After a walk, a ground ball scored Pérez, though Moser limited the rally to a single run after catching Jonathan Moreno attempting to steal, ending the inning with a neat 1-3-6 putout.
Götz started the sixth by beating out a bouncer to second, moving all the way to third when the next hitter, Finn Niemeyer, beat out a bunt to the right side, with an error allowing each the extra base. Following a fly out, and with two runners in scoring position and Germany’s plucky offense still with two outs to go in the frame, Edurman Cruz relieved Forteza. It was just what the doctor ordered for Cuba. Cruz induced a groundball to third that Götz broke for home on, and a nice throw from Daniel Santos nailed the leadoff runner. As the next batter dug in, two pickoff attempts by Cruz eventually yielded the intended result, as catcher Jochey Jiménez caught Samuel Redle stealing to end the frame.
Moser gave up two hits in the bottom of the seventh, but a bullet from Schierhorn nabbed one of the runners attempting to steal, and Moser struck out the final two batters on swinging strikes. Down to its final three outs, Norgren gave Deutschland some hope, drawing a free pass to start. Once again, Abeicy Pantoja called on his ‘pen, and once more, the moved worked, as reliever Edenis Cruz, twin brother of the pitcher he replaced, worked out of the jam, though a single from Huber and a beaning of Noah Lorenz did load the bases. A lofty flyball ended things, however, and Cuba escaped with a 4-3 victory, its closest escape of the Placement Round.
Germany out-hit and out-fielded the Antilleans, arguably out-pitching them as well. Bullmann went four innings, striking out two and surrendering three runs on only three hits and a walk. Moser was very unlucky to receive the loss, whiffing three in two innings. Götz had two hits, as did Norgren, who reached base in every plate appearance. The Deutschlanders did not commit an error in the tough defeat.
South Africa – Australia
In a contest between the only two teams at the U18 World Cup from south of the equator, it was South Africa that struck first. Tristan Fradd led off with a 3-2 single down the right field line, sprinting to third two batters later on a Joshua Botha knock to almost the same location. Botha then broke for second, successfully stealing the bag, and inducing a wild throw that allowed Fradd to score and Botha to head to third. Stiaan Henning then lined a ball up the middle to plate Botha. A hit batter and a balk gave South Africa a chance to add more, but back-to-back Ks by Deakin Filko got Australia out of the jam.
Jaden du Preez had some help from his infield in the bottom of the initial frame, finishing a scoreless first with a K, but South Africa had its hot start halted, as Australia’s manager Jason Pospishil opted for a quick hook on Filko. Ashton Kennedy entered and was superb in relief, tossing three shutout innings in which he surrendered only a single hit and no walks. In both the third and the fourth, South Africa got its second batter of the frame on base, only to find the runner erased on an inning-ending double play.
Meanwhile, Australia reversed South Africa’s early lead with a nine-run bottom of the second on its way to a mercy rule win in five innings. Australia got six of its 11 hits in second and capitalised on a pair of defensive errors. In its final at bat, South Africa faced Nate Quigg, who struck out the side to put an exclamation point on the 13-2 victory for the Aussies.
Botha had hits in both his at bats, but South Africa managed only four knocks in total, working a single walk and two hit by pitches. Three pitchers toed the rubber int he loss, and saw eight unearned runs cross the plate, with five errors leading to the damage.
Other Games
The remaining games on the docket were all nailbiters, with Taiwan and Puerto Rico going two extra innings before the former finally plated a run. Each side had only two hits in the 1-0 final, the score of which was duplicated by the U.S. in its victory over South Korea. Giovanni Rojas pitched a shutout for the Americans, striking out 10. Meanwhile, Panamá scored a run in the first and still held a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth against Japan, which tied the game up. In extra innings, both sides scored four in the eighth before Japan earned the walkoff victory in a 6-5 final.
The Super Round results set the matchups for the medal games, with U.S.A. challenging Japan for the gold, and South Korea and Taiwan contesting third place.
Day 8 Schedule
Still looking for its first win, South Africa will meet a scrappy German side on the final day of the Under-18 Baseball World Cup. Italy will put its win streak on the line against Australia in what should be a de facto battle for eighth place, though wins by German and Australia would change the calculus.
Placement Group Standings
Japan: 4-0
U.S.A.: 3-1
South Korea: 2-2
Taiwan: 2-2
Puerto Rico: 1-3
Panamá: 0-4
Group B Standings
Cuba: 4-0
Italy: 3-1
Germany: 2-2
Australia: 2-2
China: 1-3
South Africa: 0-4
Box Scores are available here [link]. See our other Under-18 Baseball World Cup coverage:
Preview https://www.mister-baseball.com/2025-under-18-world-cup-day-8-another-victory-for-italy/.
Day 1 Results https://www.mister-baseball.com/2025-under-18-world-cup-day-8-another-victory-for-italy/.
Day 2 Results https://www.mister-baseball.com/2025-under-18-world-cup-day-8-another-victory-for-italy/.
Day 3 Results https://www.mister-baseball.com/2025-under-18-world-cup-day-8-another-victory-for-italy/.
Day 4 Results https://www.mister-baseball.com/2025-under-18-world-cup-day-8-another-victory-for-italy/.
Day 5 Results https://www.mister-baseball.com/2025-under-18-world-cup-day-8-another-victory-for-italy/.
Day 6 Results https://www.mister-baseball.com/2025-under-18-world-cup-day-8-another-victory-for-italy/.
Day 7 Results https://www.mister-baseball.com/2025-under-18-world-cup-day-8-another-victory-for-italy/.