Tucson Qualifier: Colombia become 19th team for World Baseball Classic 2026

The third day of the Tucson World Baseball Classic Qualifier ended with two wins by the run-difference rule. World No. 13 Colombia beat No. 17 Germany (10-0) to finish undefeated and qualify for the World Baseball Classic 2026. No. 23 Brazil outscored No. 20 China (12-2) and will face Germany in a one-game play for the 20th and final spot on Thursday, March 6.

Colombia-Germany

Colombia made their stand with a five-run first at bat on their way to a seven-inning win.

German starter Mark Harrison couldn't make it through the first inning. He hit Michael Arroyo with the first pitch of the game. The Colombian leadoff hitter stole second and scored on an RBI single by Harold Ramirez. A defensive error, one more hit by pitch and a base hit by designated hitter Dislon Herrera made it 3-0 and sent Harrison to the showers. Jesus Marriaga tripled off reliever Sven Schueller to make it 5-0.

Colombia added two runs in the third and the fourth and walked it off in the seventh on Jose Ramo's RBI single. WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup star Bryan Buelvas had three RBIs.

Starter Adrian Almeida gave Colombia three solid innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out five. Luis Escobar, Dani Correa, Yapson Gomez and Exequiel Zabaleta pitched one inning to keep Germany scoreless.

"We're just very excited to actually make the [World Baseball Classic] tournament,” Dilson Herrera said postgame. “That was our main goal. There was a lot of preparation coming into this tournament in all aspects of the game. Just after what happened in 2023, coming here and doing what we do. It was very special."

Manager Josè Mosquera, who led Colombia to a WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup bronze medal in 2021, commented for MLB.con: "We won the locker room first. The team chemistry was [great], and that is the result. Everybody was playing together as a team, that was the biggest thing. We are really excited about how we look as a team for the next Classic.

Brazil-China

Also Brazil needed only one inning to take control of the game and finished it in seven innings.

Chinese starter Xiang Wang couldn't get an out. He walked the leadoff hitter, then allowed back-to-back singles to designated hitter Osvaldo Carvalho and third baseman Leonardo Reginatto for the first run. Wang walked Dante Bichette to load the bases and allowed the second run on second baseman Lucas Rojo's RBI single. He walked in the third run and left.

Catcher Gabriel Carmo got to reliever Xudi Suo for a two-RBI single, and centre fielder Gabriel Maciel, the ninth hitter of the frame, made it 6-0 with a sacrifice fly.

Brazil wasted no time and put five more runs on the scoreboard through the bottom of the third. It wouldn't have been enough to end the game by the run-difference rule because China scored one run on starter Pedro Lemos and one on reliever Joao Marostica. Shortstop Vitor Ito provided the 12th run with a single off Guangxuan Sun in the bottom of the seventh.

"Since 2012, when we last qualified for the main stage, we probably had two or three opportunities to go, and we couldn't make it," Rojo commented postgame. "It still hurts today. But we are very focused on one goal, one objective. We're a close-knit family, and I think we will pull this together."

In 2026, China won't participate in the World Baseball Classic for the first time.

Colombia became the third qualified team for the World Baseball Classic 2026 after No. 16 Nicaragua and No. 2 Chinese Taipei advanced through the Taipei Qualifier. The winner of Germany-Brazil will complete the 20 participants.

The 16 teams placed among the top four of the respective groups in the World Baseball Classic 2023 have already split into groups.

Tokyo, Japan, March 5 to 10, No. 1 Japan, No. 11 Australia, No. 15 Czechia, No. 6 Korea

San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 6 to 11, No. 9 Puerto Rico, No. 22 Canada, No. 10 Cuba, No. 8 Panama

Houston, Texas (USA), March 6 to 11, No. 5 USA, No. 18 Great Britain, No. 14 Italy, No. 4 Mexico

Miami, Florida (USA), March 6 to 11, No. 11 Dominican Republic, No. 19 Israel, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 3 Venezuela.

Houston and Miami will host the quarterfinals on March 13 and 14, respectively. Miami will host the championship round. The semifinals are scheduled for March 15 and 16, and the World Championship Final will be played on Tuesday, March 17.