2025 Under-18 World Cup Day 3: Italy, Germany Close in Losses

By Gabriel Fidler, Managing Editor.

Germany’ fought valiantly in a tough matchup against the United States, while Italy put plenty of runners on base against Puerto Rico, but could not quite break through in Under-18 Baseball World Cup action, as both European nations took losses on the third day of play in Okinawa. Meanwhile, South Africa’s game against World No. 4 South Korea looked like it might end after only five frames before rain affected play.

Puerto Rico – Italy
For the second-straight day, the Italians were undone by a quick start from an opponent that took advantage of every mistake. With two outs in the top of the first and the bases-loaded via the free pass, Italy committed a costly defensive error that allowed Puerto Rico to score a pair. A wild pitch led to a third run, and Italy was in a 3-0 hole without having surrendered a hit.

After knocking out Italy’s starter with no outs and two on in the second, Christian Tontini entered and gave the Azzurri some hope, getting the next three batters with ease, recording a pair of punch-outs. After a scoreless third, Puerto Rico finally broke through against the right-hander, with doubles from Enrico Carrion and Javeth Carrion leading to three runs.

Puerto Rico’s starter Keniel Miranda pitched four scoreless innings with seven strike-outs, though five Italians reached base. Italy finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth, with Federico de Cristan and Aldo Pavarani working back-to-back walks to start the frame. An error scored de Cristan and moved Pavarani to third, allowing Patrick Silva to lift a flyball to right for a sacrifice fly and a second run.

Down 6-2, Italy kept fighting, putting two on in the sixth with one out, but eventually left the bases loaded. Federico Magalotti was aces on the mound in the final two frames, permitting only a walk to the seven batters he faced. In the bottom of the seventh, Alessandro Garaviglia beat out a two-out infield single, but was left stranded, and Puerto Rico claimed the four-run victory.

Italy drew a whopping nine walks and added three hits, but went 0-for-7 with two walks with runners in scoring position and 0-for-16 with four walks with runners on base. Garaviglia had two hits for the Blue-and-White, while de Cristan was a sparkplug from the nine spot, drawing walks in all three of his plate appearances.

U.S.A. – Germany
The United States took advantage of a wild start by Matthias Bullman and scored four runs on a pair of two-out singles in the top of the first. From that point onwards, however, the game was a more competitive affair, and Bullman would toss a pair of scoreless innings against the world’s third-ranked nation.

Germany got on the scoreboard against Matthew Sharman in the bottom of the fifth with the U.S. up 7-0. Germany made the most of a throwing error with singles by Jakob Hiber, Finn Niemeyer, and Owen Fierlbeck, cutting the gap to 7-3. Unfortunately for Baseball Deutschland, Trey Rangel took over for Sharman and allowed only a walk over the final three innings, striking out six.

The Stars and Stripes added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth on RBI-singles by Grady Emerson and Aiden Ruiz. It was the third RBI for Ruiz, who went 2-for-4 in the 9-3 victory. Fierlbeck was the only German player to reach base twice, and he and Niemeyer were the only pair not to go down on strikes.

South Korea – South Africa
The umpiring crew stopped with two outs in the bottom of the third after the heavens opened and a deluge fell. The WBSC Technical Commission decided to suspend the game. According to the WBSC rules, the game will resume from the exact point of suspension, with South Korea was leading 13-0.

Other Games
Australia jumped to an early lead against China and kept piling it on, all the while holding the Chinese hitless until the fourth in a 15-3 victory. In a matchup of unbeatens, Japan defeated Cuba 3-0 to move to the top of Pool A, while the final game of the day was an absolute nail-biter.

Panamá and Taiwan were still scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, when Taiwan’s leadoff hitter Tin-Yi Jiang turned a hit by pitch into a run after a nifty steal of second, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a bouncing ball in front of the plate. With Shih-Chan Chen cruising on the mound, it looked like the one run might hold, but Panamá mounted a two-out rally when Juan Caballero doubled and Luis Rivera followed with a game-tying single to right center. William Cutshall then lined a ball up the middle, but reliever Lan-Hong Su got out of the jam. Taiwan then walked off after Yi-An Chang started the bottom of the seventh with a single, moved to second on a one-out walk, and came home on a game-winning base kock by Yu-Hao Chang. The 2-1 win moved Taiwan into a three-way tie with Australia and Germany in Group B

Day 4 Schedule
Germany will go for a crucial third win against Panamá, with a victory offering hope of qualifying for the Super Round with only two days of pool ply remaining. Meanwhile, Italy will try and break into the win column against heavyweight South Korea and South Africa will be tasked with stopping Samurai Japan.

Group A Standings
Japan: 3-0
Cuba: 2-1
Puerto Rico: 2-1
South Korea: 1-1
South Africa: 0-2
Italy: 0-3

Group B Standings
U.S.A.: 3-0
Australia: 2-1
Germany: 2-1
Taiwan: 2-1
China: 0-3
Panamá: 0-3

See our other Under-18 Baseball World Cup coverage:
Preview [link].
Day 1 Results [link].
Day 2 Results [link].