Australia and New Zealand qualify for Men's Softball World Cup Group Stage
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<p>Defending champions and world No. 2 Australia and No. 7 New Zealand qualified for the Group Stage of the <strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Men's Softball World Cup (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/organisation/wbsc-events/mens-softball-world-cup" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">XVIII Men's Softball World Cup</span></a></strong> due to take place next year after finishing first and second respectively in the <a href="https://www.wbscoceania.org/en/events/2023-mens-softball-oceania-championship/schedule-and-results"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WBSC Oceania Qualification Tournament</span></strong></a> at the Tony Solaita Field in Tafuba, American Samoa.</p>
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<p>Australia finished the three-team tournament with a 5-1 record. They lost the first game against New Zealand, 9-3, but won the other two, 11-4 and 7-0. The hosts, American Samoa, finished 0-6.</p>
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<p>Australia's outfielder Nathan Lynch had the best batting average (.667) but appeared only three times at bat. New Zealand's Hohepa Monk posted the most relevant batting performance, going 5-for-8 (.625 batting average with three home runs and nine RBIs).</p>
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<p>New Zealand's Liam Potts and Australia's Jarryd Farrell and Mathew Beckett recorded two wins. Beckett pitched 10 innings, striking out 10. Potts also recorded 16 strike outs in only six innings pitched.</p>
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<h4><strong><a href="https://www.wbscoceania.org/en/events/2023-mens-softball-oceania-championship/schedule-and-results" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The official web page (opens in a new tab)"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The official web page</span></a></strong></h4>
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<p><strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Prince Albert (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/prince-albert-canada-to-host-wbsc-mens-softball-world-cup-group-finals" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Prince Albert</span></a></strong> (Canada) will host one of the three six-team groups while <strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Oklahoma City (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/wbsc-mens-softball-world-cup-group-awarded-to-oklahoma-city-usa" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Oklahoma City</span></a></strong> (USA) will host another from 17 to 21 September, 2024. The hosts of the third group will be announced at a later date.</p>
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<p>Eight National Teams have already qualified for the XVIII WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Group Stage. The tournament played in American Samoa was the third qualifying event after the <strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Men's Softball European Championship (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/mens-softball-european-championship-2023-czechia-denmark-and-netherlands-qualify-for-wbsc-mens-softball-world-cup" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Men's Softball European Championship</span></a></strong> and the <strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Men's Softball Asia Cup (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/japan-claim-mens-softball-asian-title-advance-to-world-cup-along-with-singapore-philippines" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Men's Softball Asia Cup</span></a></strong>. The WBSC Americas qualifier is scheduled for late 2023, while the WBSC Africa qualifying event will open the 2024 season. </p>
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<p>Africa <strong>(2)</strong> <br>Americas <strong>(5)</strong> <br>Asia <strong>(3)</strong> No. 3 Japan, No. 13 Singapore, No. 15 Philippines<br>Europe <strong>(3)</strong> No. 6 Czechia, No. 11 Denmark, No. 16 Netherlands<br>Oceania <strong>(2)</strong> No. 2 Australia, No. 7 New Zealand<br>Wild Cards <strong>(3)</strong></p>
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