South Africa Qualifies for U23 World Cup; Zimbabwe Runner-Up for Africa

This article first appeared on www.extrainnings.co.uk [link] and has been used here with permission.

South Africa romped to the African Under-23 Championship in a three-team tournament this past weekend, allowing only nine runs over five games while averaging. Despite the lop-sided nature of its games, the other two nations, Zimbabwe and Benin, both had moments of solid play, and there was only one shutout across the four days. With the victory, South Africa will represent its continent at the 2026 Under-23 Baseball World Cup from Nov. 6–15, where it will face Cuba, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Japan, Nicaragua, Panamá, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Taiwan, Venezuela, and the winners of the Oceania Qualifier (Australia vs. Guam, Nov. 6–9, 2025 in Sydney).

Overall Standings

Team	W	L	RF	RA	+/-	Notes
South Africa	5	0	125	9	116
Zimbabwe	2	3	35	65	-30
Benin	0	5	20	111	-91

Results
Oct. 30
Zimbabwe 12 – Benin 4 (7?)
South Africa 24 – Benin 0 (5)

Oct. 31
Zimbabwe 1 – South Africa 15 (?)
Benin 1 – South Africa 23 (5?)

Nov. 1
Benin 5 – Zimbabwe 12 (7?)
South Africa 19 – Zimbabwe 4 (?)

Nov. 2
Friendly: South Africa U18/U15 15 – Benin 10 (7?)
Championship: Zimbabwe 2 – South Africa 21 (5)