U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup Day 8 – Live Updates: USA defeat Australia, secure spot in medal games. Canada take on Venezuela

We can expect hard-fought games today with a lot at stake for most of the teams. All games of the tournament are streamed live on GameTime, the WBSC OTT platform.

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<p>The final day of the Super Round at the <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2023-u18-mens-softball-world-cup/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="WBSC U-18 Men's Softball World Cup (opens in a new tab)">WBSC U-18 Men's Softball World Cup</a></span></strong> will see five teams battling for three berths in the medal games. Mexico (3-1 record in the Super Round standings) has clinched their spot in Sunday's World Championship Final, while Japan, Canada, USA, Australia and Venezuela will play for the other three spots in the medal games.&nbsp;</p>

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<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class=""><tbody><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Singapore vs New Zealand (PR)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">5 - 18</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Play by play (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2023-u18-mens-softball-world-cup/schedule-and-results/box-score/127281" target="_blank">Box score</a></span></strong></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Australia vs USA (SR)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">3 - 4</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Play by play (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2023-u18-mens-softball-world-cup/schedule-and-results/box-score/127282" target="_blank">Box score</a></span></strong></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Colombia vs Argentina (PR)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1 - 7</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Play by play (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2023-u18-mens-softball-world-cup/schedule-and-results/box-score/127285" target="_blank">Box score</a></span></strong></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Venezuela vs Canada (SR)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">1 - 0</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2023-u18-mens-softball-world-cup/schedule-and-results/box-score/127284" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Play by play (opens in a new tab)">Play by play</a></span></strong></td></tr><tr><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Japan vs Mexico (SR)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">20:00</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><br></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

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<p>We can expect hard-fought games today with a lot at stake for most of the teams.&nbsp;Japan has secured their presence in one of the medal games. The Asian champions will secure a spot in the World Championship Final if they win today against Mexico. If they lose, the results of the other two Super Round games will determine if they play for the World Championship trophy or the bronze medal.</p>

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<p>For Canada and USA&nbsp;all options are open, including going to the final, qualifying for the Bronze Medal Game, or ending their participation today. They&nbsp;need a win, and hope other results go their way, to advance to tomorrow's final.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Australia and Venezuela are fighting to make the Bronze Medal Game. They need a win, and a combination of results, to play for the bronze tomorrow.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>All games of the tournament are streamed live on <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://gametime.sport/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="GameTime (opens in a new tab)">GameTime</a></span></strong>, the WBSC OTT platform.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>For the Placement Round, Singapore will play New Zealand, while Colombia will face Argentina, both at Mundialistas Hermosillenses stadium. These games will set the final standings from eighth to 11th place. Czechia, with a day off today, secured yesterday the seventh position in the standings.</p>

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<h3>Super Round</h3>

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<h2>Venezuela vs Canada</h2>

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<p><strong>Top 1st</strong> - Venezuela take a 1-0 lead with a leadoff homer from Juan Carlos Pereira to the center field. The South Americans have the early lead.</p>

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<h2>Australia vs USA</h2>

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<p>USA defeated Australia today in their final game of the Super Round, and secured a spot in one of tomorrow's medal games. The results in the final two games of the Super Round will define if USA plays the World Championship Final or the Bronze Medal Game.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Braden Ducharme hit the go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the fourth for USA, while Cody Gibbons pitched seven innings, striking out eight while giving up nine hits and three runs.</p>

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<p>With this result, Australia have been eliminated from the medal games, and will finish in fifth or sixth place, depending on the results of the other games.</p>

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<p><strong>Top 7th</strong> - Joe Robinson homers for Australia, but Cody Gibbons retire the last out for the win. </p>

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<p><strong>Bottom 6th</strong> - With two outs, USA added an insurance run on a triple to left field off the bat of Braden Ducharme. They lead now 4-2.</p>

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<p><strong>Bottom 4th</strong> - A bad defensive inning costed the lead to Australia. Two errors allowed USA to take the lead. Drake Varela and Braden Ducharme with the RBI singles. Now USA lead 3-2.</p>

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<p><strong>Top 4th</strong> - Australia jump ahead again. With two outs, Timothy Gleeson was hit by a pitch, and thn scored on a double to left field from Coby White. Australia leading 2-1.</p>

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<p><strong>Bottom 3rd</strong> - After a quick out, USA loaded the bases on three consecutive walks, forcing a visit to the circle. After that, Australia's pitcher Corie List struck out Drake Varela and Logan Boom to escape unscathed. The game remains 1-0 of the green and gold team.</p>

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<p><strong>Top 2nd</strong> - Australia put two runners on scoring position but the US pitcher Cody Gibbons struck out Kylan Pearce to end the inning. Gibbons topped 80 MPH with his drop ball in this inning.</p>

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<p><strong>Top 1st</strong> - Australia get on the board first. A defensive error by shortstop Braden Ducharme opened the door for a two-out RBI double off the bat of Ky Hurst. Australia is leading, 1-0.</p>

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<h3>Placement Round</h3>

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<h2>Colombia vs Argentina</h2>

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<p><strong>Bottom 5th</strong> - A pair of two-RBI singles from Genaro Correa and Tobias Zarlenga extend Argentina's lead to 7-1.</p>

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<p><strong>Bottom 4th</strong> - Argentina take the lead with a Genaro Correa RBI single, and a grounder from Tobias Zarlenga. They lead 3-1.</p>

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<p><strong>Bottom 2nd</strong> - A defensive error by Colombia's shortstop allows Argentina to tie the game.</p>

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<p><strong>Top 1st</strong> - Colombia score on a defensive error bye first baseman Juan Godoy. They lead, 1-0.</p>

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<h2>Singapore vs New Zealand</h2>

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<p>New Zealand closed their participation in the tournament with a powerful offensive performance. In the first game of the day, they used two monster innings to clinch an 18-5 victory against Singapore.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>The kiwis connected three homers in the game, off the bats of Lennox Easthope, Maximus Russell (inside the park) and Joseph Simpson-Smith.</p>

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<p><strong>Top 4th</strong> - Singapore answer back with a five-run rally. With two outs on the scoreboard, Singapore connected four consecutive hits, including an inside the park homer from Ean Eu. It's his third homer of the tournament.</p>

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<p><strong>Bottom 3rd</strong> - A defensive error allowed Cohen Bailey to score New Zealand's ninth run of the game.</p>

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<p><strong>Bottom 2nd</strong> - Lennox Easthope drove in George McCarroll to add one more for New Zealand.&nbsp;</p>

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<p><strong>Bottom 1st</strong> - New Zealand score seven in their first at bat, including an inside the park homer by Maximus Russell and a three-run homer from Joseph Simpson-Smith.&nbsp;</p>

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