2013 World Junior Championship

The 2013 World Junior Championship was held in Taichung, Taiwan. Rain delayed the opening of the tournament. The USA won its 7th title, second-most all-time behind Cuba, while Japan finished second for the third time, never having won yet.

First Round

September 1

• Canada 16, Czech Republic 3. LF Tyler O'Neill falls a triple shy of a cycle and drives in 5, while RF Gareth Morgan is a double short of a cycle in a Canadian romp. Connor Noble gets the win and Mitchell Bigras the save as they combine for two hits, while Tomas Ondra takes the loss.
• Australia 9, Colombia 4. SS Zachary Shephered (4 H), DH Ryan Dale (3 R), RF Jason Warburton (3 RBI) and CF James Philibossian (3 RBI) all contribute to an Aussie win. Nicholas Hutchings gets the win, though relievers Keiran McCluskey and Shaun Wright fare better. Argemiro Estremor is the losing hurler.
• Japan 4, Taiwan 1. Yuki Matsui tossed a 3-hit, 12-K gem to beat Taiwan; Tzu-Wei Lin turns in a solid outing but takes the loss. CF Ryuma Mori, the #9 hitter, goes 2 for 3 with a run and a RBI.
• USA 8, Italy 0. Jack Flaherty (6 IP), John Marshall (1 IP) and Marvin Goras (2 IP) combine on a 11-strikeout, two-hit shutout, though they walk six. DH Alexander Destino (2 for 4, SB, R, 2 RBI) and SS Cole Tucker (2 for 3, 3B, 2 R, RBI) lead a balanced offense.
• Venezuela 6, Mexico 5. Mexico led 5-1 after 4 1/2 innings but Miguel Caigua held them hitless over the final 5 2/3 IP. In the meantime, Venezuela kept pecking away. In the 7th, they scored 3 runs off Carlos Balboa and Eduardo Osuna to tie the game. In the 8th, Osuna hit a batter. After a steal, 3B Silfredo Teran doubled in the winner. Teran finished 3 for 3 with two doubles, a run, two RBI and two errors.
• Cuba 2, South Korea 1. Cuba wins despite mustering just three hits against Ji-Seob Lim (2 H, 5 BB, 16 K, 2 UER in 7 IP) and Ju-seong Han (1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K in 2 IP). Ariel Diaz (6 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 R in 7 IP) and Aldo Conrado (1 H, 1 BB, 2 K in 2 IP) hold Korea to one run. Cuba scores in the third on a walk, balk, walk, passed ball and wild pitch as Lim proves his own worst enemy. In the 4th, they tie it when 1B Byeong-wok Lim triples home 3B Ha-seong Kim. The last run comes in the 7th, when an error and wild pitch put a Cuban runner on third and SS Moises Esquerre, the #9 hitter, doubles him in.

September 2

• Japan 11, Mexico 0. RF Yuto Yoshida (3 R, 2 RBI), C Tomoya Mori (3 RBI) and LF Ryuma Mori (3 R) provide the offense as Japan cruises, while Harumi Iida tosses a four-hit, no-walk shutout. Mario Rodriguez takes the loss.
• Venezuela 7, Canada 5. Venezuela has its second come-from-behind win. Canadian LF Tyler O'Neill hits a 3-run homer in the third and Canada leads 5-4 going into the 9th, but Venezuela scores 9th-inning runs - on an error, a bunt and a balk. Brodie Harkness takes the loss while Will Alvarez and Ismael Zerpa combine for 4 1/3 shutout innings of relief as Venezuela's bullpen again outperforms their starters. Cal Quantrill starts for Canada. SS Luis Sierra drives in 3 for Venezuela.
• Taiwan 16, Czech Republic 0. In a five-inning mercy rule game, Chia-Ming Tu and Yun-Wen Chen combine on a two-hitter while Lukas Ercoli gives up 8 runs without making it through the first. 2B Li Lin and 3B Chia-Wei Yang each drive in 3, LF Tzu-Hao Chen and DH Cheng-Tang Wang each collect three hits and CF/RF Tzu-Chuan Liu scores 3 times.
• South Korea 4, Colombia 0. Se-woong Park (7 IP) and four relievers combine on a 12-strikeout, one-hitter. C Carlos Martinez gets the lone Colombian hit while Milton Meza is handed the loss.
• Cuba 15, Italy 0. In another rout, Cuba has 3-RBI performances from RF Julio Martinez (3 R), 2B Yoan Moncada and 3B Yano Perez (3 H). Arbelio Quiroz and Yoandri Caro fan 10 in six innings, holding Italy to three hits. Stefano Grassi takes the loss.
• Australia 1, USA 0. The defending champions get upset as Australian hurlers Lewis Thorpe (8 K, 5 H in 5 2/3 IP), Lachlan Madden (3 K, 0 H in 2 1/3 IP) and Shaun Wright (2 K, 0 H in 1 IP) outduel Keaton McKinney (1 R in 4 2/3 IP), Marvin Gorgas (0 R in 2 2/3 IP) and Luis Ortiz (0 R in 2/3 IP). The only run comes in the second on a single by 3B Sam Kennelly, a steal and a single by 1B Connor MacDonald.
• Japan 7, Venezuela 0. Japan gets its second strong pitching outing of the day as Tomohiro Anraku fans 16 in a two-hit, no-walk masterpiece. Welmer Quintero takes the loss, lasting only 1 2/3 IP. SS Haruki Tanemura (2 R) and C Tomoya Mori (2 for 4, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI) lead the Japanese offensive.
• Mexico 12, Czech Republic 2. The Czechs had a chance to tie in the 5th. Down 4-0, SS Adam Hajtmar came up with the bases loaded against Mario Rodriguez and hit a ball that was inches from being a grand slam - and instead wound up only a sacrifice fly. Mexico then scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 7th off relievers Svatoslav Kraut, Michal Prudil and Matej Dedek to end it. Opposing 2B Jakub Ondráček and Diego Mercado (2 R, 2 RBI) each go 3 for 4. Ondřej Satoria gives up only 3 hits and 4 runs (2 earned) in 6 innings to take the loss despite being the best Czech hurler.
• Taiwan 4, Canada 2. Canada again gets a good effort from Tyler O'Neill (2 RBI) but not enough from everyone else as Travis Seabrooke loses to Cheng-Hsien Lin; Wen-Hua Sung gets the save by retiring 9 of 10 hitters, four by strikeout. 2B Li Lin has 3 walks and 2 runs while 3B Chia-Wei Yang drives in two.

September 3

• USA 2, South Korea 1. US leadoff man Trace Loehr (2 for 2, 2 BB, 2B, SB, 2 R) proves to be the sparkplug while Brady Aiken tosses a solid effort for a win and Luis Ortiz goes 2 2/3 innings for the save. Ju-seong Han tosses 5 2/3 shutout innings of relief for South Korea.
• Italy 7, Australia 4. SS Zachary Shephered has his second four-hit day but Italy counters with a balanced attack with two runs apiece from 3B Giovanni Gabella, LF Federico Celli and CF Federico Gioradano. Lorenzo Gradali gets the win and Davide Anselmi a 3-inning save, while Darcy Heppleton takes the loss.
• Cuba 10, Colombia 0. Ruben Hernandez tossed a one-hitter while Colombian counterpart Ezequiel Zabaleta is pounded for 8 runs in 1 1/3 IP. RF Julio Martinez drives in 3 for Cuba.
• Canada 11, Mexico 4. C John-Daniel Osborne (4 RBI, 2B, HR) and P John-Patrick Stevenson (W) give Canada the power of the hyphenated names, while SS Malik Collymore drives in 3 and 3B Jake Lumley connects for 3 hits. Juan Escamilla takes the loss.
• Japan 15, Czech Republic 0. Japan remained dominant as Yuya Takahashi, Kona Takahashi and Kazuto Taguchi combine on a one-hit, no-walk, 11-K gem. 3B-1B Yasuhito Uchida scores 3 runs, RF Akihito Iwashige goes 3 for 4 and DH Tomoya Mori goes 3 for 3 with two runs and 3 RBI as Japan gets 21 hits in under 6 innings. David Vondra is the losing hurler.
• Taiwan 10, Venezuela 0. DH Cheng-Tang Wang goes 4 for 4 with a run and 3 RBI and 1B Chia-Jung Liang also drives in 3 in a romp. Chen-Yen Chiang and Tzu-Wei Lin combine on the whitewash.
• South Korea 4, Australia 0. South Korea makes the most of its four hits while Australia is held to 3 hits. Kyu-hyun An (2 H, 9 K in 7 1/3 IP) is superb and Se-woong Park and Hee-woon Yu finish it off. Lachlan Wells takes the loss despite one hit in 5 1/3 IP.
• Colombia 6, Italy 4. Colombia scores 4 in the bottom of the 7th, 3 on a triple by CF Rolando Hernandez, for the comeback. RF Carlos Vidal (3 BB) and C Carlos Martinez each score two runs, Jean Ruiz gets the win and Argemino Estremor the save. Matteo Spada is the losing pitcher, while recent Royals high-profile signee Marten Gasparini gets two hits for Italy.
• USA 6, Cuba 5. The longstanding rivals have an exciting contest with the US prevailing late. Cuba scored three in the second off US starter Justus Sheffield, knocking him out, but Jacob Nix shuts them out for the next 5 2/3 innings. The US rallies to retake the lead in the 7th and they go into the 9th ahead, 5-3. In the top of the 9th, though, 2B Yoan Moncada led off with a bunt hit (his 3rd hit) off US closer Luis Ortiz. After a strikeout, backup DH Randy Arozarena tripled and an error by 2B Trace Loehr tied the game. Ortiz retired 1B Mario Miranda and LF Yusnier Ortiz to prevent Cuba from going ahead. In the bottom of the 9th, US DH Bryson Brigman singled off Aldo Conrado for his third hit. SS Cole Tucker bunted Brigman over, then Conrado intentionally walked Loehr. Yoandri Caro relieved but 3B Mike Rivera greeted him with a game-winning single to right, Rivera's 3rd RBI of the contest.

September 4

• Venezuela 6, Czech Republic 2. Welmer Quintero fans 8 in a complete game to beat the Czechs; Svatoslav Kraut is the losing hurler while Tomas Ondra turns in solid relief (1 R in 4 IP). 1B Anthony Concepcion scores twice and drives in a run.
• Japan 7, Canada 5. Japan faces its first major challenge but rallies from a 5-1 deficit to win. Taisuke Yamaoka (7 K, 1 H in 3 2/3 IP), Yuya Takahashi (3 K, 0 H in 2 IP) and Tomohiro Anraku (1 K, 0 H in 1 IP) provide shutout relief after Kazuto Taguchi bombs as the starter (5 R in 2 1/3 IP). Brodie Harkness takes the loss while Cal Quantrill (1 UER in 4 2/3 IP) provides solid relief. RF Yuto Yoshida reaches base four times and scores twice, while C Tomoya Mori remains hot with 3 RBI and a homer.
• South Korea 17, Italy 4. Korea shreds Italy with strong offensive performances from LF Tae-jin Kim (3 for 5, 3 R, RBI), 1B Byeong-wuk Lim (2 for 5, 3 R, 2 RBI) and CF Byung-ok Bae (3 for 5, 3 2B, 3 R, RBI). Young-kuk Hwang fans 8 and allows two hits and one run in 5 relief innings, while Myeong-jin Cha tosses two hitless, scoreless innings to wrap it up. Stefano Grassi surrenders 8 hits and 8 runs (4 earned) in 1 2/3 IP as six Italians make errors, 2 by 2B Matteo Pizziloni.
• Cuba 3, Australia 2. Cuba again plays a one-run game, this time winning, as Yadier Echevarria (W) and Vladimir Gutiérrez (Sv) hold the Aussies to four hits. Shaun Wright takes the loss.
• USA 12, Colombia 6. 3B Michael Rivera (3 R), LF Adam Haseley (4 H, 2 2B, 3B, 3 R), 1B Keaton McKinney (3 RBI) and RF Jakson Reetz (3 H) lead a strong American offense, while RF Carlos Vidal and CF-3B Ronaldo Hernandez each have three hits in a losing cause. John Marshall gets credit for the win, Milton Meza the loss.
• Taiwan 17, Mexico 4. The hosts improve to 4-1 in the first round as Chia-Wei Yang beats Abraham Leon. Leon retires just one of 7 batters he faces. The 7-inning mercy rule rout features good games from 2B Li Lin (3 for 4, 2 R, 4 RBI), SS Kuo-Hao Wu (3 for 3, 2 R), DH Cheng-Tang Wang (3 R), 1B Chia-Jung Liang (3 RBI) and C Min-Hao Chiang (3 R).

Standings

Group A

• Japan, 5-0
• Taiwan, 4-1
• Venezuela, 3-2
• Canada, 2-3
• Mexico, 1-4
• Czech Republic, 0-5

Group B

• Cuba, 4-1
• USA, 4-1
• South Korea, 3-2
• Australia, 2-3
• Colombia, 1-4
• Italy, 1-4

Semifinals

September 5

• USA 15, Venezuela 5. CF Scott Hurst (4 H), CF J.J. Schwarz (4 RBI) and 1B Keaton McKinney (3 R) lead a strong US offensive to open the second round. Marvin Gorgas gets the win, Anthony Avendano the loss.
• Japan 10, South Korea 0. Yuki Matsui (6 IP) and Taisuke Yamaoka (1 IP) combine on a shutout, while Ji-seob Lim is the losing hurler.
• Cuba 1, Taiwan 0. Taiwan gets eight hits against Ariel Diaz (7 2/3 IP) and Aldo Conrado (1 1/3 IP) but manufacture no runs. Cheng-Hsiu Lin blanks Cuba for 7 and Wen-Hua Sung tosses a shutout 8th. In the 9th, though, 1B Yanio Perez hits into an error by 3B Chia-Wei Yang. After a sacrifice hit, Sung intentionally walks CF Victor Mesa. LF Yusnier Diaz singles in Perez with the winner.

September 6

• South Korea 11, Venezuela 1. 1B Byeong-wuk Lim (3 for 4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) and 2B Chan-ho Park (3 for 4, R, RBI) lead a strong Korean offense. Se-woong Park is the winning hurler, Juan Vegas the losing one.
• Japan 10, Cuba 0. 1B Satoshi Sonobe (2 for 2, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI) is one of four Japanese players with multiple runs, while Tomohiro Anraku goes the distance (10 K, 6 H, 0 BB). Arbelio Quiroz takes Cuba's second loss.
• USA 7, Taiwan 5. Taiwan jumps on US starter Justus Sheffield and leads 5-2 going into the bottom of the 7th, but the bullpen cannot do as well as starter Tzu-Wei Lin. Chen-Yen Chiang takes the loss, Joe DeMers gets the win and Luis Ortiz the save. RF Jakson Reetz (3 for 3, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI) leads the US offense, while LF Tzu-Hao Chen gets three hits in a losing effort.

September 7

• Cuba 8, Venezuela 6. RF Julio Martinez goes 3 for 5 with a homer and 3 runs to lead Cuba to a 8-6 win. Arbelio Quiroz gets the win, Yadier Echevarria the save and Welmer Quintero takes the loss. Down 6-4 going into the bottom of the 7th, Cuba rallies on doubles by CF Victor Mesa and LF Yusnier Diaz, a triple by DH Alexquemer Sánchez and a sacrifice fly to go ahead.
• Taiwan 5, South Korea 4. SS Kuo-Hao Wu (2 for 5, 3B, R) and Cheng-Hsien Lin (0 R in 4 2/3 IP) lead a balanced team effort to have Taiwan beat their Asian rivals. Chia-Wei Yang gets the win, Ju-seong Han gets the loss after working 10+ innings. 3B Ha-seong Kim goes 3 for 4 with a double and a RBI in the loss.
• USA 10, Japan 4. Alexander Destino not only is the winning pitcher but scores a run and drives in two, while C J.J. Schwarz goes 5 for 5 with a double, two runs and two RBI to hand Japan its first loss in eight games. Yuya Takahashi takes the loss. 1B Yasuhito Uchida drives in 3 for the losing squad.

Finals

September 5

• 11th/12th place game: Italy 4, Czech Republic 0. Matteo Bocchi tosses a 8-hit shutout. Ondřej Satoria matches him for 6 innings, but Lukas Ercoli loses in relief. 3B Giovanni Garbella goes 3 for 4 for Italy, while DH Joel Valera hits a two-run homer.
• 9th/10th place game: Mexico 7, Colombia 3. CF Jaime Soltero and C Jose Gudino each have 3 hits and 2 RBI, while Ivan Hernandez is the winning hurler. 3B Fabian Nieva has three doubles for Colombia, while Wilmer Pineda is handed the loss.
• 7th/8th place game: Canada 17, Australia 3. Canada pounds the Aussies, with huge days from 3B Jake Lumley (4 RBI), RF Gareth Morgan (3 R), 1B Lachlan Fontaine (3 H) and SS Malik Collymore (3 H). Daniel Procopio wins, while Bryce Collins is the loser.

September 8

• 5th/6th place game: South Korea 6, Venezuela 1. 3B Ha-seong Kim goes 3 for 3 with 3 runs to again lead Korea's offense while Se-woong Park gets the win with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball; 3 relievers finish it up. Ismael Zerpa is the losing hurler.

• Bronze Medal game: Cuba 6, Taiwan 1. 5,000 fans show up for the home team but starter Chen-Yen Chiang gives up 3 runs without making it through the first. Ruben Hernandez (3 H, 3 BB, 1 R in 2 2/3 IP) starts poorly for Cuba but Vladimir Gutiérrez (1 H, 2 BB, 0 R, 7 K in 6 1/3 IP) is excellent in relief. CF Yusnier Diaz scores two runs while SS Moises Esquerre drives in two.

• Gold Medal game: USA 3, Japan 2. The game began with some superb pitching from Yuki Matsui and Brady Aiken both toss four shutout innings. After the US strands the bases loaded in the 4th, Japan scores in the 5th as Aiken plunks CF Ryuma Mori with one out, walks SS Hiromi Takemura and gives up a two-out single to LF Takahiro Kumagai. In the bottom of the 5th, the US evens it on singles from SS Cole Tucker (leadoff) and C Michael Rivera (one out) and a fielder's choice hit into by LF Adam Haseley.

The US takes the lead in the 6th. With two outs, RF Jakson Reetz doubles and 3B Bryson Brigman singles him in. The next inning, the US got the decisive run. 2B Trace Loehr led off with a single. Taisuke Yamaoka relieved Matsui and tossed a wild pitch. Rivera bunted Loehr to third, then Haseley grounded out. 1B Keaton McKinney came through in the clutch, hitting a single to score Loehr. The US turned to closer Luis Ortiz in the bottom of the 8th. Kumagai drew a leadoff walk, stole second with one out and scored on a two-out single by 1B Satoshi Sonobe. Ortiz retired the next three batters he faced, but plunked Takemura in the top of the 9th. Takemura stole second, but RF Yuto Yoshida went down swinging to end it.

Standings

1. USA
2. Japan
3. Cuba
4. Taiwan
5. South Korea
6. Venezuela
7. Canada
8. Australia
9. Mexico
10. Colombia
11. Italy
12. Czech Republic

Awards

• MVP: Luis Ortiz, USA RP
• Outstanding Defensive Player: Moises Esquerre, Cuba SS

All-Star Team

• SP: Tomohiro Anraku, Japan
• RP: Taisuke Yamaoka, Japan
• C: Tomoya Mori, Japan
• 1B: Byeong-wuk Lim, South Korea
• 2B: Li Lin, Taiwan
• SS: Moises Esquerre, Cuba
• 3B: Michael Rivera, USA
• OF: Adam Haseley, USA
• OF: Tzu-Hao Chen, Taiwan
• OF: Tyler O'Neill, Canada
• DH: Cheng-Tang Wang, Taiwan