Mexico claim historic bronze medal at WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup
Behind a stellar all-around performance from Analia Lopez, Mexico defeated China, 4-2, to capture the bronze medal at the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup 2025 in Oklahoma City. It marks the nation’s first-ever medal in any Women’s Softball World Cup.
Emotions ran high for Mexico’s players and staff. Head coach Adriana Perez reflected on the achievement: “We had one thing in mind coming into this tournament, and this was to be in the top three and make sure we go home with a medal. And we accomplished that. I’m speechless, speechless — what an honour to always wear Mexico across our chest, especially for me, having been a player and now a coach, to see the process of our program grow. I’m super proud of the girls.”
Player of the game Analia Lopez added: “I couldn’t be any more proud of this team. We started the tournament off rough, but I knew that we were gonna come back and finish it. All we needed to do was not make any errors, have each other’s back, cheer each other on, be loud, be confident, and just have a lot of confidence.”
Mexico were chasing their first-ever medal in a Women’s Softball World Cup. They had already equalled their best performance, a fourth-place finish in Lima 2021, where they lost the bronze medal game to Puerto Rico, 4-0. However, this time they got into the podium with an unforgettable win today.
Lopez was outstanding in the circle, tossing a complete game with five strikeouts while allowing just two runs on six hits. At the plate, she added to her own cause, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead Mexico to a historic podium finish.
"Analia is a freaking gamer. I'm so proud of her," added Perez. "Two days ago, we told her what the plan was going to be, leading into what she was going to do today, and she took care of her job. I'm super proud of her and I knew it. The moment she was going to take the mount, she was going to get it done for us."
Mexico wasted no time getting on the board, striking for two runs in the top of the first inning. Jenica Silvas opened the game with a leadoff double and came around to score on a throwing error by Ziyao Pan following a sacrifice bunt. Analia Lopez then doubled to drive in another run, giving Mexico an early 2-0 lead.
Mexico extended their advantage to 3-0 in the top of the second inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Lopez delivered again, singling in Amy Cornelius. Despite the three-run cushion, Mexico have left six runners stranded through the first two innings.
Asked about her two RBIs — which proved to be the game-winning runs — Lopez said that she was trying only to contribute to the team: “I’m just really glad I was able to help my team out and be a big part of it,” she said.
China’s defense faltered again in the bottom of the fourth, gifting Mexico a 4-0 lead. Angelica Montenegro led off with a single and came all the way around to score after two throwing errors by catcher Jiayi Chen on a pair of bunting plays.
In the bottom of the sixth, China got on the board. Yarui Wang slapped a rolling to shortstop and beat the throw in a very close play to get on base. Moved to second on a bunt by Min Lin, and then scored on a single by Yali Huang to right field.
China threatened in the bottom of the seventh, as Yichen Zhu tripled and scored on a grounder to cut the deficit to two. A fielding error and a two-out single put the tying run in scoring position, but Analia Lopez held her nerve. She struck out Min Lin on five pitches, finishing with a 67 mph heater on the outside corner to clinch Mexico’s historic bronze medal.
“It was very nerve-racking, very, very anxious. But I’m just glad that we got it done,” Lopez added. “I love this team. They have my back every mistake I made, and every mistake they make, I have their back. We’re always there for each other.”
"My plan was to really hit my spots, really hit my spots, doesn't matter how fast it is, just really hit my spots," declared Lopez after the game.
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