WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Finals 2025: USA take lead over Japan in World Championship Final
Welcome to the final day at the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Finals 2025 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, USA. USA will take on Japan in the World Championship Final, starting at 14 local time. The game is available on the WBSC official streaming platform, GameTime.
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This final marks the 12th time Japan and USA face each other for the title in the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup. In their previous 11 finals, USA have claimed six victories, while Japan have won five.
From 1991 to 2019, these two softball powerhouses contested 10 consecutive finals. In Lima 2021, however, USA faced Chinese Taipei, winning their eighth world championship 1-0, as Japan did not participate due to the pandemic.
USA are aiming to secure a record-setting fifth consecutive world championship in this category. They currently boast a 47-game winning streak, having gone undefeated to claim the last four world titles.
Both teams have already secured medals in this tournament. USA remain the only nation to reach the podium in every edition of the U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup, with 14 medals to their name - eight gold, five silver, and one bronze - and are now poised for a 15th. Japan will also be celebrating their 14th podium finish; the only edition they missed was 2021.
Live blog
In the bottom of the first, USA loaded the bases without a hit, drawing a walk and hitting two batters. Japan’s Shion Yamamoto came through in the clutch, striking out Payton Westra and inducing a grounder to second to end the threat.
Mayumi Fujiwara opened the third inning with a rocket triple to the right-field wall, followed by a perfectly executed bunt single from Aisa Noda to put two runners on with no outs. Both runners came home on a bloop single down the right-field line by Mayuha Ishikawa, giving Japan a 2-0 lead over USA.
In the bottom of the third, USA capitalized on a costly error by Japan’s first baseman Erin Sato to grab a 3-2 advantage. With runners on second and third and two outs, Ki’ele Ho Ching grounded to Sato, who stepped on the orange bag, allowing the runner from third to score and leaving the inning alive. Addyson Sheppard followed with a single to drive in two more, giving USA their first lead of the game.
USA added one in the following inning, on a wild pitch, with McLaine Hudson scoring from third on a very close play.
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- Canada's Avery Tucker: Growing up in a family of champions
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- Japan's Shion Yamamoto: Following in Yukiko Ueno’s footsteps to the top of the world
- China’s Menghuan Zhou pitches her team back among the elite, eyes a bright future
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