2019 Premier 12

The 2019 Premier 12 was the second Premier 12. The top finisher from the Americas and the top non-Japanese Asian/Oceania finisher earned spots in the 2020 Olympics (Japan qualifying as the host nation of the Olympics). The 2019 Premier 12 was being held in Taiwan, Mexico, South Korea and Japan, with the finals in the Tokyo Dome. The event ran from November 2-November 17, 2019. The top 12 men's teams in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings at the end of 2018 qualified for the event:  Japan,  United States,  South Korea,  Chinese Taipei,  Cuba,  Mexico,  Australia,  Netherlands,  Venezuela,  Canada,  Puerto Rico and  Dominican Republic. The only change from the 2015 Premier 12 was Australia replacing  Italy.

See also 2019 Premier 12 (Rosters)

Pool Round

November 2

at the Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
United States	1	1	1	0	4	0	0	2	x	9	11	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Cody Ponce (1-0) Loss: Rob Cordemans (0-1)
Home Runs
USA: Drew Waters, Robert Dalbec, Jo Adell, Brent Rooker
Umpires
HP: Maikol Tibabijo (Colombia); 1B: Ki-joong Lee (South Korea); 2B: Aaron Roberts (Canada); 3B: Hsu-Kuang Chu (Taiwan)
Time of Game: 2:17 Attendance: 3,015

The US got off to a superb start. Cody Ponce allowed two hits in five shutout innings (to C Hendrik Clementina and SS/3B Sharlon Schoop) and then Noah Song, Clayton Andrews, Brooks Pounders and Clayton Richard each turned in a hitless frame. Meanwhile, four-time Olympic veteran Rob Cordemans allowed a leadoff homer to CF Drew Waters and allowed another run in the 2nd and one more in the 3rd. In the 5th, the US really beefed up their lead when 1B Robert Dalbec hit a grand slam off Lars Huijer.

at the Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Dominican Republic	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	1
Mexico	0	0	4	0	0	2	6	7	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Humberto Castellanos (1-0) Loss: Enny Romero (0-1)
Home Runs
Mexico: Esteban Quiroz, Efren Navarro, Matt Clark
Umpires
HP: Jeff Macias (USA); 1B: Takanori Yamamoto (Japan); 2B: Ruben Ramos (Puerto Rico); 3B: Tomohisa Yamaguchi (Japan)
Time of Game: 2:00 Attendance: 8,000

The other game on opening day was delayed over an hour by rain, then ended early by further storms. The Dominicans got their only run in the 1st, against Eduardo Vera. SS Geraldo Perdomo singled, advanced on a grounder and scored on a two-out single by DH Carlos Peguero. Vera and Humberto Castellanos would allow only two hits and one walk the rest of the way, though.

The hosts struck back in the bottom of the third against Enny Romero, who fanned 10 in 4 1/3 innings. SS Javier Salazar and CF Jon Jones got back-to-back singles, 3B Christian Villanueva drew a one-out walk and 2B Esteban Quiroz cracked a grand slam, continuing his history of home runs in international competitions. They got some insurance in the bottom of the 6th when LF Efren Navarro and DH Matt Clark hit back-to-back shots off Luis Pérez.

November 3

at the Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Dominican Republic	0	1	2	1	3	6	1	14	16	0
Netherlands	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	9	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Henry Henry (1-0) Loss: Orlando Yntema (0-1)
Home Runs
Dominican Republic: Charlie Valerio, Carlos Peguero, Jeison Guzmán Netherlands: Roger Bernadina, Chadwick Tromp
Umpires
HP: Ruben Ramos (Puerto Rico); 1B: Jeff Macias (USA); 2B: Hsu-Kuang Chu (Taiwan); 3B: Ki-joong Lee (South Korea)
Time of Game: 3:01 Attendance: 5,132

The lone European entry got ahead early but the Dominicans get on scoring after the first and wound up with a mercy rule win. The Netherlands wasted no time getting to Ervin Santana. CF Roger Bernadina homered, 2B Calten Daal singled and C Chadwick Tromp hit a two-run shot to give them more hits and runs than they had in their opener. The Dominicans got one back in the 2nd when C Charlie Valerio took Jair Jurrjens deep. In the top of the third, 2B Otto López singled and LF Alfredo Marte doubled him home, one of four RBI today for Marte. RF Carlos Peguero singled and Orlando Yntema relieved the struggling Jurrjens. After an out, Valerio singled in Marte to tie it at three.

The Dominicans took the lead in the 4th. 1B Edwin Espinal walked and CF Gilberto Celestino doubled him home. In the bottom of the 4th, the Netherlands nearly tied it. RF Ray-Patrick Didder doubled off Henry Henry with one out and Bernadina hit a long fly to center. Celestino made a diving catch with his back to home plate to rob Bernadina of the potential game-tying blow. In the top of the fifth, the Dominicans padded their lead. Peguero singled, DH Elehuris Montero singled and Espinal had a two-out, two-run single. Kevin Kelly replaced Yntema but allowed a single to Celestino, walked SS Geraldo Perdomo and gave up a RBI single to López.

The lead got padded a lot in the top of the 6th when the Dominican Republic struck for six runs against former major leaguer Shairon Martis and Orsen Josephina before the Dutch got one in the bottom of the 6th and the Dominicans got one run in the 7th. Espinal finished with 3 runs and 3 RBI. It was the first Dominican win ever at the Premier 12, having gone 0-5 in 2015.

at the Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mexico	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	5	0	8	10	0
United States	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Felipe González (1-0) Loss: Tanner Houck (0-1)
Home Runs
Mexico: Felipe González USA: Erik Kratz, Robert Dalbec
Umpires
HP: Takanori Yamamoto (Japan); 1B: Aaron Roberts (Canada); 2B: Tomohisa Yamaguchi (Japan); 3B: Maikol Tibabijo (Colombia)
Time of Game: 3:03 Attendance: 10,123

After a dominant opener, the US fell flat against the hosts today as Mexico became the first team to qualify for the Super Round. They got the home crowd excited early against Tanner Houck when CF Jon Jones was hit by a pitch, LF Juan Pérez singled, 2B Esteban Quiroz grounded them over and 3B Christian Villanueva singled in both runs. The US tied it with solo homers by C Erik Kratz in the 3rd and 1B Robert Dalbec in the 4th, both off Horacio Ramírez. After that, Felipe González, Jesús Cruz, Brennan Bernardino and Carlos Bustamante held the US to three hits, no walks and no runs the remainder of the day.

Mexico took the lead again in the top of the 5th. RF Noah Perio Jr. and SS Javier Salazar singled against Daniel Tillo and a two-out passed ball by Kratz scored Perio. Mexico got plenty of insurance in the 8th. Pérez singled off Caleb Thielbar and Quiroz drew a walk. J.P. Feyereisen relieved and Villanueva hit a fly to advance both runners. DH Matt Clark was intentionally walked and Jorge Flores pinch-ran. 1B Efrén Navarro singled in two runs and C Alí Solís hit a three-run homer for a final exclamation point.

November 4

at the Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
United States	1	3	3	1	1	0	0	1	0	10	12	2
Dominican Republic	0	2	0	1	4	0	0	0	1	8	8	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Wyatt Mills (1-0) Loss: Carlos Sano (0-1) Save: Brandon Dickson (1)
Home Runs
USA: Mark Payton, Jacob Cronenworth, Alec Bohm, Erik Kratz Dominican Republic: Charlie Valerio
Umpires
HP: Ki-joong Lee (South Korea); 1B: Hsu-Kuang Chu (Taiwan); 2B: Takanori Yamamoto (Japan); 3B: Ruben Ramos (Puerto Rico)
Time of Game: 3:20 Attendance: 3,102

With the winner going on to the Super Round and the loser being eliminated from that round, the US outslugged the Dominicans to rebound from yesterday's loss.

LF Mark Payton set the tone with a leadoff homer off Carlos Sano, the 2nd leadoff homer for the US in three games. In the 2nd, SS Jacob Cronenworth added a second long ball. 3B Alec Bohm doubled and C Erik Kratz singled him in. After 2B Xavier Edwards singled, Bryan Valdez replaced Sano and walked Payton. CF Jo Adell's single made it 4-0.

The Dominicans struck in the bottom of the inning against Parker Dunshee. With one out, C Charlie Valerio walked and RF Oscar González hit into an error by Bohm. A wild pitch advanced both runners and 1B Edwin Espinal hit a two-run single to cut the gap in half. The US had another big inning in the 3rd, though. DH Bobby Dalbec walked against Cristopher Sánchez and Cronenworth drew a one-out walk then Bohm atoned for his error with a three-run bomb to right and it was 7-2.

In the 4th, RF Daulton Varsho hit into a two-out error by Sánchez, stole second and scored on a single by Dalbec. The Dominicans got that run back in the bottom of the inning; with one out, Valerio singled off Penn Murfee and advanced on an error by Payton on the play. With two outs, Espinal singled him in again and it was 8-3.

The US continued to rough up the Dominican pitching in the 5th when Kratz took Carlos Pimentel deep for his 2nd home run of the tournament. The US now led 9-3 but the Dominicans stayed in it. In the bottom of the 5th, SS Geraldo Perdomo singled and Murfee plunked 2B Otto López. LF Alfredo Marte drew a walk to load the bags. Brian Flynn replaced Murfee. DH Carlos Peguero grounded home Perdomo to make it 9-4 and Valerio swatted a three-run homer to pull within two.

Kelvin González turned in two shutout innings, the first Dominican hurler today to silence the US bats, but Wyatt Mills was turning in two hitless, scoreless innings as the top American hurler today. In the 8th, Kratz doubled off fellow veteran Neftali Feliz and scored on a two-out single by Adell to make it 10-7.

The Dominicans did not relent. Valerio doubled off Noah Song and stole third but Song struck out the side, including the hot Espinal. In the bottom of the 9th, Brandon Dickson got the first two outs but López singled, swiped second and scored on a Marte single. After a wild pitch advanced Marte, Dickson got cleanup man and potential tying run Peguero swinging to end it.

Bohm, Kratz and Valerio each finished a triple shy of the cycle and Bohm and Valerio drove in 3, Valerio also scoring three.

November 5

at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	4	10	1
Japan	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	6	X	8	8	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Hiroshi Kaino (1-0) Loss: Anthony Vizcaya (0-1)
Home Runs
None
Umpires
HP: Jeff Gosney (USA); 1B: Jorge Niebla (Cuba); 2B: Andrew Higgins (Canada); 3B: Trent Thomas (Australia)
Time of Game: 3:39 Attendance: 3,868

After a disappointing finish to the first Premier 12, Japan had to struggle to win their opener. Shun Yamaguchi and Felix Doubront both turned in good starts, neither allowing a run through three. In the 4th, Venezuela got to Yamaguchi. DH Balbino Fuenmayor singled, C Jose Godoy walked, 2B Andrés Blanco hit a one-out single and SS Dixon Machado hit into a run-scoring force.

In the 5th, Japan got the lead. Andres Sotillet replaced Doubront, who had given up just one hit. With one out, C Seiji Kobayashi walked and SS Hayato Sakamoto hit into an error by Machado. 2B Ryosuke Kikuchi doubled in Kobayashi, LF Kensuke Kondo was intentionally walked and RF Seiya Suzuki singled to score Sakamoto, but Kikuchi was gunned down trying to score on the play, with CF Herlis Rodriguez throwing him out.

Venezuela quickly retook the lead. Fuenmayor and Godoy opened the 6th with singles off Taisuke Yamaoka, then 3B Carlos Rivero doubled to tie it. After Blanco grounded out, Kan Otake relieved and retired Machado on a grounder but Godoy scored to make it 3-2. Kota Nakagawa entered but Rodriguez greeted him with a RBI single for a 4-2 edge.

Japan got men on the corners in the 6th but failed to capitalize as Carlos Navas retired PH Tsubasa Aizawa and Sakamoto. In the 8th, though, Japan came back with a vengeance. Elvis Escobar walked 1B Hideto Asamura on five pitches and CF Yoshihiro Maru on four. Anthony Vizcaya relieved. After an out, Aizawa (now catching) drew a four-pitch walk and 2B Tetsuto Yamada drew a walk to make it 4-3. Kikuchi singled to left to tie it, then Kondo walked as well, the 5th walk of the inning to make it 5-4. Miguel Socolovich relieved and Suzuki greeted him with a sacrifice fly. DH Masataka Yoshida was intentionally walked then backup SS Sosuke Genda singled home Kikuchi. Maru drew the 8th walk of the inning, bringing in Kondo to cap a six-run frame. Yasuaki Yamasaki made the 9th much less dramatic with a 1-2-3 frame to wrap it up.

at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	4
Chinese Taipei	2	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	X	6	4	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Shao-Ching Chiang (1-0) Loss: Fernando Cruz (0-1)
Home Runs
Chinese Taipei: Li Lin
Umpires
HP: Naoto Shikita (Japan); 1B: Ray Gregson (USA); 2B: Hi-young Park (South Korea); 3B: Alan Izaguirre (Mexico)
Time of Game: 2:58 Attendance: 11,852

The host teams went to 3-0 as Taiwan opened with a dominant shutdown of the 2019 Pan American Games champions. Shao-Ching Chiang allowed only three hits and no walks in six innings then Kuan-Yu Chen, Yu-Hsun Chen and Hung-Wen Chen each turned in a hitless frame. Meanwhile, sloppy defense doomed Puerto Rico on a day they only gave up four hits.

In the bottom of the first, 3B Wei-Chen Wang hit into an error by 2B Jesmuel Valentín and 2B Li Lin took Fernando Cruz deep for a quick 2-0 lead. After two outs, Cruz issued three straight walks but recovered to fan CF Chih-Hao Chang. Puerto Rico got within a run in the 5th when they got two of their three hits today back-to-back on a two-out double by 1B Jeffrey Domínguez and a single by Valentín.

In the bottom of the 5th, SS Tung-Hua Yueh drew a walk and Wang singled. Lin laid down a bunt and Cruz made a two-run error. Miguel Martínez relieved and LF Chih-Chieh Su hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. They got added insurance in the 6th thanks to more errors as Chang singled, Yueh hit into a second Valentín miscue. Wang then hit into an error by SS Ozzie Martínez to score Chang.

at the Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	7	4
Mexico	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	2	x	10	10	2
Pitchers of Record
Win: Manny Barreda (1-0) Loss: Tom Stuifbergen (0-1)
Home Runs
None
Umpires
HP: Aaron Roberts (Canada); 1B: Jeff Macias (USA); 2B: Maikol Tibabijo (Colombia); 3B: Tomohisa Yamaguchi (Japan)
Time of Game: 3:17 Attendance: 6,895

Both teams' fates for the super round had already been determined - Mexico in, Netherlands out. It was the Netherlands' first winless tournament of the 21st Century and the losses had been convincing ones. Tom Stuifbergen got the start in what was billed as his final outing for the Dutch. CF Jon Jones and RF Noah Perio Jr. hit back-to-back singles and an error on Perio's hit scored Jones and sent Perio to third, from where he scored on a grounder by LF Efrén Navarro.

In the 3rd, the same group did it again. Jones and Perio singled against Shairon Martis and Navarro doubled in Perio (Jones having been caught stealing). After a grounder and a walk, C Armando Araiza singled in Navarro to make it 4-0. Kevin Kelly, Lars Huijer and Mike Bolsenbroek blanked the Mexicans from the 4th through the 6th.

In the 7th, Orsen Josephina walked SS Jorge Flores and Jones got his third single. Diegomar Markwell relieved Perio hit a comebacker but the throw home was mishandled by C Chadwick Tromp for an error to score Flores. Franklin van Gurp became the 9th Netherlands pitcher as both teams drained their benches in a game that did not affect the next round. He hit 3B José Vargas with one out. A wild pitch let in one run and 3B Dwayne Kemp made a two-run error and the hosts now led by eight.

The Netherlands finally scored in the 8th after being blanked by Arturo Reyes, Manny Barreda, Humberto Castellanos, Adam Quintana and Ryan Verdugo with just two hits in seven. Francisco Rios gave up hits to 2B Gianfranco Wawoe and RF Kalian Sams then veteran Yurendell De Caster hit a pinch-hit, two-run single. Rios retired the next two but Justin Kelly gave up a hit to PH Juremi Profar and walked LF Ademar Rifaela. The Dutch had a chance to move within two with a homer but SS Calten Daal grounded out.

The hosts tacked on more runs in the bottom of the frame. 1B Humberto Sosa hit into an error by Profar (now stationed at third) and Flores doubled to left off Jim Ploeger. Jones grounded in Sosa and Perio's fly brought in Flores.

November 6

at the Gocheok Sky Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Canada	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3	6	2
Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Philippe Aumont (1-0) Loss: Carlos Juan Viera (0-1) Save: Scott Mathieson (1)
Home Runs
None
Umpires
HP: Fumihiro Yoshimoto (Japan); 1B: Jairo Mendoza (Nicaragua); 2B: Hua-Wen Chi (Taiwan); 3B: Alessandro Spera (Italy)
Time of Game: 3:16 Attendance: 250

Canada again topped Cuba, just like in the 2019 Pan American Games, this time doing it in a pitching duel rather than a slugfest. Phillippe Aumont continued his strong run in international competition, allowing only two hits (to 1B Yordanis Samón and C Yosvani Alarcón) and one walk in eight, fanning nine batters, then Scott Mathieson struck out the side in the 9th.

Carlos Juan Viera matched Aumont zero for zero through three. In the 4th, 3B Eric Wood doubled and RF Michael Saunders singled him in. In the 8th, Canada got some insurance against Liván Moinelo. He hit SS Wes Darvill and Wood singled. Saunders laid down a surprise sacrifice to advance the runners. Moinelo intentionally walked 2B Charles Leblanc and retired 1B Jordan Lennerton but issued a walk to LF Tristan Pompey to force in a run and another to DH Rene Tosoni to make it 3-0.

at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
Japan	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	X	4	6	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Rei Takahashi (1-0) Loss: Giovanni Soto (0-1)
Home Runs
Japan: Seiya Suzuki
Umpires
HP: Alan Izaguirre (Mexico); 1B: Hi-young Park (South Korea); 2B: Ray Gregson (USA); 3B: Michael Ulloa (Spain)
Time of Game: 2:35 Attendance: 4,209

Japan also held a Caribbean power to four hits and no runs. Rei Takahashi allowed one hit and one walk in six innings, then Shinya Kayama, Kan Otake, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yasuaki Yamasaki closed it out. Japan was mostly contained as well, only scoring in one inning but it was enough. In the bottom of the third, 1B Tetsuto Yamada drew a walk from Giovanni Soto and 2B Ryosuke Kikuchi got the game's first hit. LF Kensuke Kondo singled and an error on the play by 1B Jeffrey Domínguez scored Yamada. RF Seiya Suzuki then socked a three-run shot, giving the Japanese hurlers more breathing room.

at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chinese Taipei	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	3	6	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Yi Chang (1-0) Loss: Miguel Socolovich (0-1) Save: Hung-Wen Chen (1)
Home Runs
None
Umpires
HP: Trent Thomas (Australia); 1B: Stenar van Groningen Schinkel (Netherlands); 2B: Jeff Gosney (USA); 3B: Naoto Shikita (Japan)
Time of Game: 3:56 Attendance: 10,983

This game started before South Korea-Australia but ended later, wrapping up a string of four shutouts in the four games today as host teams moved to 6-0. Yi Chang allowed four hits in seven innings and Kuan-Yu Chen, Kai-Wei Lin and Hung-Wen Chen wrapped it up. They finished with five hits and two walks allowed while whiffing ten; RF Diego Rincones led Venezuela's offense with two hits.

Henderson Alvarez, Liarvis Breto, Argenis Angulo and Luis Martinez kept the pitching duel going for six innings as none allowed a run. In the 7th, CF Che-Hsuan Lin drew a one-out walk from Miguel Socolovich and PH Yu-Hsien Chu doubled him in (the same day his daughter was born), then 3B Wei-Chen Wang doubled to plate PR Sheng-Wei Wang. In the 9th, Taiwan added insurance against Cristian Alvarado. DH Chin-Lung Hu singled, stole second then advanced and scored on back-to-back wild pitches.

Taiwan and Japan moved on to the Super Round while Venezuela and Puerto Rico would not advance.

at the Gocheok Sky Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
South Korea	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	X	5	7	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Hyeon-jong Yang (1-0) Loss: Tim Atherton (0-1)
Home Runs
None
Umpires
HP: Jose Del Puerto (Mexico); 1B: Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic); 2B: Saiya Silva (Venezuela); 3B: Tomoya Ishiyama (Japan)
Time of Game: 2:50 Attendance: 5,899

The defending champs start off on the right note. In the best of today's four shutouts, Hyeon-jong Yang, Young-ha Lee, Yong-chan Lee and Jong-hyan Won combine on a one-hitter, walking none and striking out 12; 2B Robbie Glendinning has the lone hit for the Southern Thunder.

Meanwhile, the hosts got all they needed early. In the bottom of the 2nd, DH Jae-hwan Kim drew a walk from Tim Atherton and advanced on a grounder by C Eui-ji Yang. LF Hyun-soo Kim singled home Jae-hwan Kim and RF Byung-hun Min doubled in Hyun-soo Kim.

Australia turned to Steven Kent in the 3rd. He walked SS Ha-seong Kim and CF Jung-hoo Lee doubled, an error on the play by 1B Luke Hughes letting the run score. After two shutout innings from Samuel Holland, Todd Van Steensel entered. He walked Jae-hwan Kim, allowed a one-out single to Hyun-soo Kim and 3B Kyoung-min Hur had a two-out RBI single. South Korea got its final tally in the 8th off Sam Street. Hur and 2B Min-woo Park were hit with two outs then Street's wildness continued as he walked Ha-seong Kim and Jung-hoo Lee to force in the run.

November 7

at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	1	1	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	7	16	0
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Williams Pérez (1-0) Loss: Luis Cintrón (0-1)
Home Runs
Venezuela: Herlis Rodriguez
Umpires
HP: Jorge Niebla (Cuba); 1B: Naoto Shikita (Japan); 2B: Michael Ulloa (Spain); 3B: Alan Izaguirre (Mexico)
Time of Game: 2:48 Attendance: 618

Both teams were already eliminated from further play. Venezuela finished on a high note, banging out 16 hits, while Puerto Rico again fell flat, having mustered only two runs in three games. It was a sharp departure from their recent international success - second place in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and Gold Medals in both the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games and 2019 Pan American Games, the latter with a very similar team to this one.

Williams Pérez allowed only three hits in five shutout innings, while his offense provided plenty of support. In the first, against Luis Cintrón, 2B Ali Castillo doubled for the first of three hits on his day and scored on a one-out single by DH Luis Castro, who had four hits today.

In the 2nd, C Jose Godoy and RF Diego Rincones each got the first of their three hits and 1B Andrés Blanco singled as well. SS Dixon Machado's sacrifice fly made it 2-0. In the 5th, Adalberto Flores relieved Cintrón. Castillo greeted him with another double and Castro had a one-out RBI double.

Fernando Cabrera took over in the 6th and Rincones greeted the international veteran with a double. Rincones advanced on Blanco's grounder. On Machado's grounder to 3B Iván de Jesús Jr., Rincones tried for home but was gunned down. CF Herlis Rodriguez then hit a two-run homer for a 5-0 lead.

Venezuela kept pecking away. LF Juniel Querecuto singled to open the 7th against Rámesis Rosa and Castro doubled again. 3B Carlos Rivero hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Querecuto and Godoy singled. Freddie Cabrera took over but Rincones greeted him with a RBI single. In the bottom of the inning, Puerto Rico finally got on the board. DH Yariel González and RF Anthony García drew walks from Dedgar Jiménez. With one out, LF Edwin Gomez then singled in a run to double Puerto Rico's offensive production for the tournament.

at the Gocheok Sky Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Australia	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	7	0
Cuba	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	3	7	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Liván Moinelo (1-0) Loss: Josh Tols (0-1)
Home Runs
Australia: Tim Kennelly
Umpires
HP: Hua-Wen Chi (Taiwan); 1B: Saiya Silva (Venezuela); 2B: Alessandro Spera (Italy); 3B: Fumihiro Yoshimoto (Japan)
Time of Game: 3:15 Attendance: 252

Cuba won the first extra-inning game of the event. It was not a good day for Cuban starter Bladimir Baños, who did not retire anyone. RF Tim Kennelly and LF Andrew Campbell singled to give Australia more hits than they had in their opener then 2B Robbie Glendinning walked to load the bases for DH Mitch Nilsson, the manager's nephew. Miguel Borroto had a short hook, bringing in Lázaro Blanco, who fanned Nilsson. CF Aaron Whitefield flew out to RF Yurisbel Gracial and the 2019 Japan Series MVP fired a strike to home to get Kennelly at the plate.

Josh Guyer shut out Cuba for the first four while Blanco kept on rolling. In the bottom of the 5th, DH Alfredo Despaigne singled for Cuba's first hit and LF Frederich Cepeda drew their first walk, chasing Guyer. Veteran Peter Moylan entered and 3B Alexander Ayala bunted into an out at third. 1B Yordanis Samón singled in Cepeda and C Yosvani Alarcón hit into a run-scoring force for a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the 6th, Australia got their first runs of the tournament. Kennelly took Blanco deep. With one out, Glendinning singled and Nilsson walked. Freddy Asiel Álvarez relieved Blanco and retired Whitefield, but SS Logan Wade singled in Glendinning with the tying run.

Moylan and Ryan Searle shut out Cuba from the 6th through the 9th while Álvarez, Raidel Martínez and Liván Moinelo were blanking the Aussies. In the bottom of the 9th, Cuba nearly won it on a long drive by SS Erisbel Arruebarruena with two aboard, but Whitefield made his second great catch of the tournament.

With the Schiller Rule in effect, Australia started with two aboard in the 10th but Moinelo retired PH David Kandilas and fanned Glendinning and Nilsson. In the bottom of the 10th, against Josh Tols, CF Roel Santos laid down a bunt to load the bases. Luke Wilkins relieved and retired PH William Saavedra but Gracial hit a sacrifice fly to center to win it for Cuba.

at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Japan	2	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	3	8	11	1
Chinese Taipei	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	11	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Yudai Ono (1-0) Loss: Yi-Chung Liao (0-1)
Home Runs
Japan: Seiya Suzuki
Umpires
HP: Ray Gregson (USA); 1B: Jeff Gosney (USA); 2B: Stenar van Groningen Schinkel (Netherlands); 3B: Andrew Higgins (Canada)
Time of Game: 3:37 Attendance: 20,465

For the first time this tournament, a host team took a loss. Japan wasted little time getting to Yi-Chung Liao; with two outs, LF Kensuke Kondo walked, RF Seiya Suzuki tripled and DH Masataka Yoshida singled to make it 2-0. In the 3rd, 2B Ryosuke Kikuchi hit a one-out single off Tsung-Hao Wang and Suzuki drilled a two-run homer. Japan got another in the 6th when SS Hayato Sakamoto hit into a one-out error by 2B Li Lin and CF Yoshihiro Maru doubled him in.

Japan got its biggest inning in the 9th. Kikuchi had a one-out single off Kai-Wei Lin and Kondo walked. Yu-Hsun Chen relieved Lin and Suzuki singled to finish a double shy of a cycle. Yoshida hit into a force, then backup SS Sensuke Genda tripled in both runners to make it 8-0.

Shota Imanaga, Yudai Ono, Taisuke Yamaoka, Hiroshi Kaino and Takayuki Kishi had scattered nine hits in eight innings before Taiwan finally scored in the 9th. RF Po-Jung Wang singled off Yoshinobu Yamamoto and advanced on a grounder. With two outs, PH Jin-De Jhang singled him in to avoid a whitewash.

at the Gocheok Sky Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
South Korea	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	3	8	0
Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Kwang-hyun Kim (1-0) Loss: Rob Zastryzny (0-1) Save: Sang-woo Cho (1)
Home Runs
None
Umpires
HP: Jairo Mendoza (Nicaragua)/Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic); 1B: José Del Puerto (Mexico); 2B: Tomoya Ishiyama (Japan); 3B: Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic)/Hua-Wen Chi (Taiwan)
Time of Game: 3:15 Attendance: 6,000

Kwang-hyun Kim, a key part of the last Olympic Gold Medal team in 2008, helped South Korea's bid for a return to the Olympics, holding Canada to one hit (by 1B Jordan Lennerton) in six while fanning seven. Rob Zastryzny was not quite as dominant but kept the hosts off the board for five innings. In the 6th, though, RF Byung-hun Min singled and SS Ha-seong Kim walked. Chris Leroux relieved and retired #3 batter Jung-hoo Lee but walked 1B Byung-ho Park and DH Jae-hwan Kim delivered a big two-run single.

Canada finally scored in the 8th. CF Dalton Pompey singled against Deok-ju Ham and SS Wes Darvill doubled him in, but they got nothing more. South Korea did get insurance in the 9th. LF Hyun-soo Kim doubled off Dustin Molleken, advanced on a single by 3B Kyoung-min Hur and scored on a two-out single by 2B Min-woo Park.

November 8

at the Gocheok Sky Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Canada	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	1
Australia	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	X	3	4	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Jon Kennedy (1-0) Loss: Brandon Marklund (0-1) Save: Ryan Searle (1)
Home Runs
None
Umpires
HP: Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic); 1B: Alessandro Spera (Italy); 2B: Fumihiro Yoshimoto (Japan); 3B: Jose Del Puerto (Mexico)
Time of Game: 2:50 Attendance: 200

Canada's offense was again flat to waste a good pitching effort, while Australia got its first win but it was enough to get them to the next round coupled with South Korea's win over Cuba; Canada, Australia and Cuba had all gone 1-2 but the tie-breaker system went the Aussies' way.

The Southern Thunder struck in the bottom of the first when RF Tim Kennelly doubled, advanced on a grounder and scored on a fly by 2B Robbie Glendinning. Brock Dykxhoorn allowed only one more hit in the next 5 1/3 innings, though, fanning seven.

Canada tied it in the 2nd. LF Tristan Pompey had a leadoff double and DH Rene Tosoni had a two-out double to score him, chasing Tim Atherton after 3 hits in 1 2/3 IP. Josh Tols, Steven Kent, Jon Kennedy and Ryan Searle shut out Canada the rest of the way, allowing only one hit, with veteran Kent turning in 4 1/3 innings.

Australia broke the tie in the bottom of the 8th. PH Luke Hughes drew a walk from Brandon Marklund and Kennelly hit into a force at second. LF Andrew Campbell grounded Kennelly over and Glendinning walked, then SS Logan Wade came up with a big two-run triple for the winning blow.

In the 9th, Pompey drew a walk from Kennedy but 1B Jordan Lennerton hit into a double play. Searle relieved and walked PH Connor Panas but Tosoni flew out to end Canada's hopes for the tournament.

at the Gocheok Sky Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
South Korea	0	2	0	0	4	1	0	0	X	7	9	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Young-ha Lee (1-0) Loss: Yosimar Cousin (0-1)
Home Runs
None
Umpires
???
Time of Game: 3:05 Attendance: 13,600

Cuba was eliminated as South Korea and Australia advanced from this pool. Jong-hun Park, Woo-chan Cha, Young-ha Lee, Woo-suk Go, Jae-hoon Ha and Seung-ho Lee combined on the shutout, scattering seven hits. South Korea got all the offense it needed in the 2nd. Yosimar Cousin hit C Eui-ji Yang and walked LF Hyun-soo Kim. Yariel Rodríguez relieved and got two outs but walked 2B Min-woo Park and SS Ha-seong Kim delivered a two-run single.

In the 5th, wildness again started things off for Cuban hurlers. With one out, Rodríguez walked Ha-seong Kim and hit CF Jung-hoo Lee. 1B Byung-ho Park singled in Kim and Yoannis Yera relieved but DH Jae-hwan Kim singled in Lee. Cuba next tried Freddy Asiel Álvarez. Yang greeted him with a sacrifice fly and Hyun-soo Kim singled home Jae-hwan Kim for a four-run inning. South Korea's last run came in the 6th when Min-woo Park had a one-out single off Álvarez and Jung-hoo Lee hit a two-out RBI double.

Pool Play Standings

Pool A

•  Mexico, 3-0
•  United States, 2-1
•  Dominican Republic, 1-2
•  Netherlands, 1-2

Pool B

•  Japan, 3-0
•  Chinese Taipei, 2-1
•  Venezuela, 1-2
•  Puerto Rico, 0-3

Pool C

•  South Korea, 3-0
•  Australia, 1-2
•  Canada, 1-2
•  Cuba, 1-2

Super Round

November 11

at the ZOZO Marine Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chinese Taipei	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Mexico	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	X	2	3	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Arturo Reyes (1-0) Loss: Shao-Ching Chiang (0-1) Save: Carlos Bustamante (1)
Home Runs
Mexico: Alí Solís
Umpires
HP: Jeff Gosney (USA); 1B: Saiya Silva (Venezuela); 2B: Aaron Roberts (Canada); 3B: Kyohei Makita (Japan)
Time of Game: 2:49 Attendance: 2,803

The first game of the Super Round continues the pitching-gem theme of the games held in Asia. Shao-Ching Chiang did not allow a hit until two outs in the 5th, when C Alí Solís hit a game-winning homer. CF Jon Jones and LF Noah Perio Jr. hit back-to-back singles in the 6th and 2B Esteban Quiroz hit a sacrifice fly.

Arturo Reyes allowed two hits in five shutout innings and Jesús Cruz, Humberto Castellanos, Brennan Bernardino, Felipe González and Carlos Bustamante closed it out, allowing only one other hit.

at the ZOZO Marine Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Australia	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	1
Japan	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	X	3	6	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Hiroshi Kaino (2-0) Loss: Jon Kennedy (1-1) Save: Yasuaki Yamasaki (1)
Home Runs
Japan Seiya Suzuki
Umpires
HP: Jorge Niebla (Cuba); 1B: Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic); 2B: Ki-joong Lee (South Korea); 3B: Ray Gregson (USA)
Time of Game: 2:39 Attendance: 17,819

Japan's first home game kept up the strong record for hosts, who went to 9-1. Australia, the only team to advance to the Super Round with a losing record, put up a strong fight though and led most of the game.

Dushan Ruzic and Shun Yamaguchi each went 1-2-3 in the first two innings. 3B Darryl George doubled to open the 7th, advanced on a grounder by C Allan de San Miguel for out number two and scored on a single by RF Tim Kennelly. In the 4th, CF Aaron Whitefield had a two-out single and DH Mitch Nilsson doubled him home for a 2-0 lead. After that, Kazuto Taguchi, Takayuki Kishi, Hiroshi Kaino (the first pitcher this tourney to go to 2-0) and Yasuaki Yamasaki allowed only two hits and no walks or runs in the last five.

Japan's comeback started in the bottom of the 4th when RF Seiya Suzuki homered off Ruzic. It was still 1-1 going into the bottom of the 7th. DH Masataka Yoshida singled off Luke Wilkins and Ukyo Shuto pinch-ran. He stole 2nd and 3rd as the next two batters struck out then scored on a fielder's choice by SS Sosuke Genda. In the bottom of the 8th, Jon Kennedy got the first two outs but LF Kensuke Kondo doubled. Suzuki was intentionally walked then Kennedy walked both PH Tetsuto Yamada and 1B Hideto Asamura to force in Kondo with the winner.

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
United States	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	13	0
South Korea	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	X	5	9	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Hyeon-jong Yang (2-0) Loss: Cody Ponce (1-1)
Home Runs
USA: Brent Rooker South Korea: Jae-hwan Kim
Umpires
HP: Tetsuya Shimata (Japan); 1B: Hua-Wen Chi (Taiwan); 2B: José Del Puerto (Mexico); 3B: Atsushi Fukaya (Japan)
Time of Game: 3:21 Attendance: 3,012

The US blew numerous chances, stranding 16, as South Korea went to 4-0. The tone was set early. In the first, 3B Alec Bohm hit a one-out double off Hyeon-jong Yang, 1B Bobby Dalbec walked and DH Andrew Vaughn singled but Yang fanned SS Jacob Cronenworth and RF Brent Rooker.

South Korea got to Cody Ponce in the bottom of the first. SS Ha-seong Kim and CF Jung-hoo Lee singled with one out; each would finish with three hits. With two away, DH Jae-hwan Kim homered to right for a 3-run shot. The US stranded two men in scoring position in the second. In the 3rd, South Korea nearly got another run on Jung-hoo Lee's double but Ha-seong Kim was out at the plate.

The US finally got on the board in the 6th when Rooker went yard off Yang. It was more wasted opportunities for the team, though, as Bohm struck out against Young-ha Lee with two men in scoring position. In the bottom of the 7th, South Korea tacked on two more. 2B Min-woo Park singled off Wyatt Mills with two outs and Ha-seong Kim doubled him in. Caleb Thielbar relieved and Jung-hoo Lee singled in Kim to make it 5-1.

In the 8th, 2B Xavier Edwards was gunned down trying to score on LF Jo Adell's single, Hyun-soo Kim firing directly home. The US got two on in the 9th with one out against Sang-woo Cho but Cronenworth struck out and backup RF Mark Payton flew out to end it.

November 12

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
Mexico	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	X	3	7	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Eduardo Vera (1-0) Loss: Josh Guyer (0-1) Save: Fernando Salas (1)
Home Runs
Mexico: Jon Jones, Matt Clark
Umpires
HP: Ki-joong Lee (South Korea); 1B: Kyohei Makita (Japan); 2B: Jeff Macias (USA); 3B: Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic)
Time of Game: 2:36 Attendance: 2,089

Mexico remained unbeaten with another pitching gem. CF Jon Jones got them all the offense they needed when he led off the bottom of the first with a dinger on Josh Guyer's first pitch. Eduardo Vera, Manny Barreda, Adam Quintana and Fernando Salas made it hold up, the latter three combining for four hitless innings of relief. 3B Darryl George led Australia with two hits.

In the 4th, Mexico got some insurance. DH Matt Clark (who called the Tokyo Dome one of his favorite stadiums dating to his time in NPB) homered off Steven Kent. LF Juan Perez singled and SS Javier Salazar hit into a force at second. Jones then doubled home Salazar.

at the ZOZO Marine Stadium
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chinese Taipei	0	2	0	1	0	0	3	0	1	7	11	0
South Korea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Yi Chang (2-0) Loss: Kwang-hyun Kim (1-1)
Home Runs
Taiwan: Chun-Hsiu Chen
Umpires
HP: Ray Gregson (USA); 1B: Atsushi Fukaya (Japan); 2B: Jeff Gosney (USA); 3B: Tetsuya Shimata (Japan)
Time of Game: 3:32 Attendance: 4,056

Previously unbeaten South Korea took their first lass in a big way, getting thrashed by Asian rival Taiwan. Yi Chang, Kuan-Yu Chen and Hung-Wen Chen combined on the day's second shutout. So dominant in his prior outing, Kwang-hyun Kim struggled, giving up 8 hits in 3 1/3 innings. 3B Wei-Chen Wang had a one-out single in the 2nd and SS Sheng-Wei Wang hit into a force, then C Yu-Chieh Kao, the #9 hitter, doubled in Sheng-Wei Wang and LF Chin-Lung Hu singled in Kao.

In the 4th, it was again the bottom of the order for Taiwan. 2B Li Lin singled, was bunted over by Wei-Chen Wang and scored on a hit by Sheng-Wei Wang. After Kao singled, that was it for Kwang-hyun Kim as Jae-hoon Ha relieved. Against Jong-hyan Won in the 7th, Hu walked and RF Po-Jung Wang drew a one-out walk. With two away, 1B Chun-Hsiu Chen hit a 3-run homer to double the lead. Taiwan got one more in the 9th against Kyeong-chan Moon. CF Che-Hsuan Lin walked, stole second and scored on a hit by DH Hung-Yu Lin.

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
United States	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	4	11	1
Japan	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	3	7	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Clayton Richard (1-0) Loss: Rei Takahashi (1-1) Save: Brandon Dickson (2)
Home Runs
USA: Jo Adell
Umpires
HP: Hua-Wen Chi (Taiwan); 1B: José Del Puerto (Mexico); 2B: Jorge Niebla (Cuba); 3B: Aaron Roberts (Canada)
Time of Game: 3:27 Attendance: 27,827

The US got its first win of the Super Round by knocking off host and previously unbeaten Japan to stay in the race for an Olympic slot.

The US got going in the 2nd against Rei Takahashi. 3B Alec Bohm doubled and advanced on grounders by 1B Andrew Vaughn and SS Jacob Cronenworth to score. In the 3rd, 2B Connor Chatham doubled and scored on a one-out double by DH Bobby Dalbec.

Penn Murfee did not allow a hit through three but walked three and was replaced by Clayton Richard in the 4th. With one out, RF Seiya Suzuki tripled off Richard; with two away, 1B Hideto Asamura singled him in. The US built their lead back to two in the 5th. LF Mark Payton doubled off Taisuke Yamaoka, CF Jo Adell singled and Bohm singled in Payton with one out.

Japan got back within a run in the 6th. Suzuki reached on a Cronenworth error with one out. With two outs, J.P. Feyereisen relieved Richard and birthday boy Asamura delivered, again driving in Suzuki, this time with a double.

The USA again made it a two-run game in the 7th with a shot to right-center by Adell off Yudai Ono. Japan had a good shot in the bottom of the inning. 3B Shuta Tonosaki singled with one out and CF Yoshihiro Maru doubled. Feyereisen retired 2B Tetsuto Yamada and Caleb Thielbar entered to retire LF Kensuke Kondo.

In the bottom of the 8th, Suzuki doubled to move within a homer of a cycle. Spencer Jones replaced Thielbar and retired PH Nobuhiro Matsuda on a fly, Suzuki moving to third. Asamura drove in Suzuki for the third time today to make it 4-3. In the bottom of the 9th, Brandon Dickson (no stranger to NPB batters after several years in Japan) whiffed Tonosaki and Maru then got Yamada on a grounder to end it, avoiding facing Suzuki and Asamura.

November 13

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Australia	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	0
United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	4	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Tim Atherton (1-1) Loss: Tanner Houck (0-2) Save: Jon Kennedy (1)
Home Runs
USA: Mark Payton
Umpires
HP: José Del Puerto (Mexico); 1B: Aaron Roberts (Canada); 2B: Tetsuya Shimata (Japan); 3B: Ki-joong Lee (South Korea)
Time of Game: 2:45 Attendance: 2,149

The Australians again upset a North American team, having stifled Canada's offense in the first round and now the homer-happy Americans in the Super Round. It was the first time Australia had beaten the US in ten matches in the Olympics, Baseball World Cup or other elite tournaments.

Red Sox prospect Tanner Houck had a rocky first. RF Tim Kennelly walked, LF Andrew Campbell doubled and 2B Robbie Glendinning walked. SS Logan Wade grounded to 1B Bobby Dalbec and he fired home to get Kennelly. CF Aaron Whitefield then rapped a two-run single for all of Australia's offense. Houck would not allow another hit before leaving after five but the damage had been done.

Meanwhile, Tim Atherton was on, giving up just one hit in five and a third. Veteran Peter Moylan walked two in the 6th but retired DH Andrew Vaughn in the clutch. Ryan Searle had a 1-2-3 7th but served up a homer to LF Mark Payton with one out in the 8th. The play before, 2B Connor Chatham had hit a shot into the gap but Whitefield continued his amazing defense this tournament with a great catch to rob him, saving a run.

In the top of the 9th, Australia almost got some insurance. Glendinning, Wade and Whitefield all had one-out singles off Wyatt Mills. Brandon Dickson relieved and got both DH Mitch Nilsson and 3B Wade Dutton looking at strike three. In the bottom of the 9th, Vaughn singled off Searle then Searle retired RF Brent Rooker. Jon Kennedy came in and got both PH Xavier Edwards and C Erik Kratz to end it; Kennedy was the first pitcher this tourney to get a win, loss and a save.

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mexico	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
Japan	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	9	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Shota Imanaga (1-0) Loss: Horacio Ramírez (0-1) Save: Yasuaki Yamasaki (2)
Home Runs
Mexico: Jon Jones
Umpires
HP: Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic); 1B: Jeff Macias (USA); 2B: Ray Gregson (USA); 3B: Saiya Silva (Venezuela)
Time of Game: 3:01 Attendance: 31,776

Japan bounced back from their loss with another pitching gem in front of the biggest crowd yet of the event. Mexico took its first loss as its pitchers struggled out of the gate. With one out in the 1st, SS Hayato Sakamoto singled off MLB vet Horacio Ramirez, stole second and scored on a one-out single by RF Seiya Suzuki. 2B Shuta Tonosaki singled and LF Kensuke Kondo singled in Suzuki for Japan's 4th hit in 6 at-bats.

In the 2nd , C Tsubasa Aizawa walked and 1B Tetsuto Yamada drew a one-out walk. Felipe González relieved Ramirez and Sakamoto greeted him with a RBI single; Sakamoto finished the day with three hits. Mexico's bullpen did not allow any more runs.

Mexico got their only hit in the 4th when CF Jon Jones took Shota Imanaga deep. Imanaga went six strong innings then Hiroshi Kaino, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yasuaki Yamasaki each put in a scoreless frame; the four hurlers combined for 15 strikeouts in a dominating performance.

November 15

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chinese Taipei	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	4	0
United States	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	X	3	6	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Spencer Jones (1-0) Loss: Sheng-Feng Wu (0-1) Save: Brandon Dickson (3)
Home Runs
Taiwan: Chin-Lung Hu USA: Brent Rooker
Umpires
HP: Kyohei Makita (Japan); 1B: Ki-joong Lee (South Korea); 2B: Saiya Silva (Venezuela); 3B: Jorge Niebla (Cuba)
Time of Game: 2:37 Attendance: 4,967

The US needed a win to keep their Olympic hopes alive and they got it with a comeback but they still needed a couple other games to go their way to be able to face Mexico in the Bronze Medal Game.

In the bottom of the first, against Sheng-Feng Wu, CF Jo Adell hit a one-out single, stole second and scored on a hit by 1B Andrew Vaughn. Taiwan tied it in the third. Parker Dunshee had faced the minimum through two before walking 3B Wei-Chen Wang to open the 3rd. SS Sheng-Wei Wang singled the runner to third and C Jin-De Jhang hit into a run-scoring double play.

Taiwan took the lead in the 6th; with one out, LF Chin-Lung Hu took Brian Flynn deep. In the bottom of the 7th, C Erik Kratz singled off Wu with one out. Wu whiffed DH Bobby Dalbec but RF Brent Rooker hit a long drive to left for the winning shot; Rooker had been retired on sliders the prior two times and was looking for and got a hold of a slider this at-bat.

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mexico	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	3	7	0
South Korea	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	X	7	7	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Woo-chan Cha (1-0) Loss: Felipe González (1-1)
Home Runs
Mexico: Jon Jones
Umpires
HP: Atsushi Fukaya (Japan); 1B: Jeff Macias (USA); 2B: Jeff Gosney (USA); 3B: Hua-Wen Chi (Taiwan)
Time of Game: 3:34 Attendance: 5,121

Thr game began as a pitching duel between Mexico's Manny Barreda and South Korea's Jong-hun Park with a spot in the finals and an Olympic spot up for grabs. Brennan Bernardino relieved Barreda with one out in the 4th and finished out the outing. Mexico got to Park in the 5th when SS Javier Salazar singled and advanced on an error by 3B Jeong Choi. CF Jon Jones then homered for a 2-0 lead.

Mexico then collapsed in the bottom of the inning. Bernardino walked LF Hyun-soo Kim. Felipe González relieved and walked C Eui-ji Yang. Choi singled and RF Byung-hun Min singled to make it 2-1. Justin Kelly replaced González but walked 2B Min-woo Park to force in the tying run. Mexico turned to their 4th pitcher of the inning, Humberto Castellanos. He got the first out, when CF Jung-hoo Lee hit into a run-scoring force to take the lead. SS Ha-seong Kim singled in another run. Castellanos retired DH Jae-hwan Kim but hit 1B Byung-ho Park and Hyun-soo Kim cleared the bases with a double for a 7-2 edge. Mexico only got a little closer. In the 6th, against Young-ha Lee, 1B Efren Navarro doubled (one of his three hits) and C Alí Solís doubled him in.

November 16

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Australia	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	5	0
Chinese Taipei	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4	X	5	7	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Yu-Hsun Chen (1-0) Loss: Josh Tols (0-2)
Home Runs
Australia: Logan Wade Taiwan: Che-Hsuan Lin
Umpires
HP: Aaron Roberts (Canada); 1B: Tetsuya Shimata (Japan); 2B: José Del Puerto (Mexico); 3B: Jeff Gosney (USA)
Time of Game: 2:57 Attendance: 7,299

With a win, Australia would have made the Bronze Medal Game; with a loss for the Aussies, the US would get in as they had the tiebreaker over Taiwan but Australia had the tiebreaker over the US. Taiwan got to Dushan Ruzic in the 3rd. He hit SS Sheng-Wei Wang and C Yu-Chieh Kao singled Wang to third. 3B Wei-Chen Wang then singled up the middle to score PR Tung-Hua Yueh. Steven Kent turned in four shutout innings of relief.

Chih-Wei Hu shut out the Aussies for five. In the 6th, Kai-Wei Lin relieved and SS Logan Wade homered to tie it with two outs. CF Aaron Whitefield singled and PH David Kandilas walked then they pulled off a double steal but PH Wade Dutton struck out to end the threat. Taiwan then went ahead for good in the 8th. Josh Tols walked Yueh with one away and Ryan Searle relieved. #9 hitter Kao singled and Wei-Chen Wang singled in Yueh, then CF Che-Hsuan Lin gave some big insurance with a three-run shot to left.

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
South Korea	0	0	1	5	0	0	2	0	0	8	12	0
Japan	0	1	6	0	2	0	1	0	X	10	14	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Yudai Ono (2-0) Loss: Seung-ho Lee (0-1) Save: Kazuto Taguchi (1)
Home Runs
South Korea: Jae-gyun Hwang
Umpires
HP: Jeff Macias (USA); 1B: Hua-Wen Chi (Taiwan); 2B: Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic); 3B: Jorge Niebla (Cuba)
Time of Game: 3:40 Attendance: 44,424

While these two teams had already locked up their spots in tomorrow's finale, there still was a very large crowd on hand for today's game. Given the lower meaning for today's contest, both teams rotated players throughout the game, letting plenty of back-ups play.

Japan got to Seung-ho Lee in the 2nd when C Tsubasa Aizawa hit a two-out double and 2B Ryosuke Kikuchi doubled him in. South Korea struck back in the 3rd when 1B Jae-gyun Hwang hit a circuit clout off Takayuki Kishi.

Japan had a huge bottom of the third, with the first six batters all reaching. SS Hayato Sakamoto doubled, CF Yoshihiro Maru had a bunt single and RF Seiya Suzuki and DH Hideto Asamura both singled in runs for a 3-1 lead. LF Masataka Yoshida singled and Yong-chan Lee relieved. He walked 3B Nobuhiro Matsuda to force in a run and Aizawa singled to make it 5-1. Kikuchi hit into a run-scoring force and 1B Tetsuto Yamada contributed a sacrifice fly.

Korea almost made up those runs in the 4th. CF Kun-woo Park, LF Jae-hwan Kim and DH Byung-ho Park hit three straight singles to produce one run. After an out, RF Baek-ho Kang singled to cut it to 7-3. With two away, C Sei-hyok Park hit a RBI double and SS Sang-su Kim a two-run double and they had moved within a run, 7-6, with a five-run frame.

In the bottom of the 5th, backup C Takuya Kai singled and Yamada doubled him in with one out. Deok-ju Ham relieved and served up a RBI double to Maru with two away and Japan was back up, 9-6. Korea made it a one-run game in the 7th. Backup CF Jung-hoo Lee singled against Taisuke Yamaoka and 3B Kyoung-min Hur hit a two-out single. Kang singled in both runners.

Shinya Kayama, Kan Otake and Kazuto Taguchi shut down South Korea after that to preserve the lead. In the bottom of the 7th, Japan got one insurance run. Backup 2B Shuta Tonosaki and Yamada both walked and backup SS Sosuke Genda bunted them over. Maru walked to load the bases then backup RF Kensuke Kondo was hit by a pitch to force in Tonosaki.

Super Round Standings

(only counts games played against other teams in the Super Round, regardless of whether they played in the pool round or super round)

•  Japan, 4-1
•  South Korea, 3-2
•  Mexico, 3-2
•  United States, 2-3
•  Chinese Taipei, 2-3
•  Australia, 1-4

Finals

November 17

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
South Korea	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	1
Japan	1	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	X	5	7	1
Pitchers of Record
Win: Rei Takahashi (2-1) Loss: Hyeon-jong Yang (2-1) Save: Yasuaki Yamasaki (3)
Home Runs
South Korea: Ha-seong Kim, Hyun-soo Kim Japan: Tetsuto Yamada
Umpires
HP: Ray Gregson (USA); 1B: Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic); 2B: Hua-Wen Chi (Taiwan); 3B: Jeff Macias (USA); LF: Jeff Gosney (USA); RF: José Del Puerto (Mexico)
Time of Game: 3:00 Attendance: 44,960

The two Asian rivals squared off, both having locked up Olympic spots already. Japan prevailed over 2015 champion South Korea. South Korea certainly started strong - CF Jung-hoo Lee drew a walk from Shun Yamaguchi then SS Ha-seong Kim homered. With two away, LF Hyun-soo Kim (the 2015 Premier 12 MVP) took Yamaguchi deep for a 3-0 lead. After that, though, Rei Takahashi, Kazuto Taguchi, Kota Nakagawa, Hiroshi Kaino, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yasuaki Yamasaki turned in eight shutout innings of relief, allowing only three hits and one walk.

Japan got to 2017 KBO MVP Hyeon-jong Yang, who entered 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA, in the bottom of the 1st. SS Hayato Sakamoto drew a one-out walk and RF Seiya Suzuki (who would be named MVP of the tournament) doubled him in with two away. In the second, Japan took the lead for good. With two away, C Tsubasa Aizawa walked and 2B Ryosuke Kikuchi singled. 1B Tetsuto Yamada then smacked a 3-run shot to left. After that, Japan rode their pitching to the title. They got one insurance run in the 7th off Sang-woo Cho when Sakamoto doubled and scored on a two-out single by DH Hideto Asamura.

at the Tokyo Dome
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
United States	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	6	1
Mexico	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	3	7	0
Pitchers of Record
Win: Carlos Bustamante (1-0) Loss: Brandon Dickson (0-1)
Home Runs
USA: Jo Adell Mexico: Matt Clark
Umpires
HP: Kyohei Makita (Japan); 1B: Jorge Niebla (Cuba); 2B: Atsushi Fukaya (Japan); 3B: Aaron Roberts (Canada}; LF: Tetsuya Shimata (Japan); RF: Ki-joong Lee (South Korea)
Time of Game: 3:15 Attendance: 44,960

The battle for the spot in the 2020 Olympics was a rematch of round one - Mexico, which had started 5-0 in the event before dropping their prior two games and the US, which had gotten the last several games necessary to go their way to make this contest and earn a rematch with Mexico. Mexico would prevail for their first Olympic baseball appearance.

Mexico turned to Arturo Reyes, who had pitched eight shutout innings so far this tournament. In the top of the first, CF Jo Adell hit a one-out homer to finally give Reyes a blemish but he would allow only two more hits and no more runs while lasting five more innings. Meanwhile, US starter Cody Ponce was also dominant, throwing five shutout innings and allowing three hits.

In the 6th, the US replaced Ponce with Daniel Tillo. With one out, CF Jon Jones singled and 2B Esteban Quiroz walked. Tillo fanned 1B Efren Navarro but hit 3B José Vargas. DH Matt Clark then singled in Jones to tie it. The US struck back in the top of the 7th against Francisco Rios. 1B Andrew Vaughn singled and was bunted over by C Erik Kratz then DH Bobby Dalbec singled in Vaughn.

Clayton Andrews and Noah Song blanked Mexico in the 7th and 8th to keep the US lead intact. In the bottom of the 9th, the US turned to closer Brandon Dickson, who had not allowed a run in 3 2/3 IP over his first four outings. He did not save it today, though, as Clark took a split-finger pitch deep to even the score.

In the 10th, the US began with Dalbec bunting the two runners over. Backup CF Drew Waters was intentionally walked then Carlos Bustamante came through in a big way by striking out 3B Alec Bohm and getting SS Jacob Cronenworth to fly out. In the bottom of the 10th, Mexico also had a star slugger bunt as CF Jones bunted the starting runners over, doing so on a risky 0-2 count. Quiroz was intentionally walked and Caleb Thielbar relieved Dickson. Navarro fouled off the first four pitches and hit a broken-bat blooper to center on the 8th offering to bring in Noah Perio Jr. with the winner, giving Mexico its first Olympic baseball spot.

Awards

• MVP: Seiya Suzuki, Japan RF
• Outstanding Defensive Player: Ryosuke Kikuchi, Japan 2B

All-World Team

• SP: Yi Chang, Taiwan (2-0, 0 R in 13 2/3 IP)
• RP: Brandon Dickson, USA (0-1, 3 Sv, 3.60)
• C: Erik Kratz, USA (.381/.435/.714)
• 1B: Bobby Dalbec, USA (.250/.364/.500, 8 RBI)
• 2B: Ryosuke Kikuchi, Japan (.333/.360/.417)
• SS: Ha-seong Kim, South Korea (.333/.438/.481)
• 3B: Wei-Chen Wang, Taiwan (.280/.333/.320)
• OF: Seiya Suzuki, Japan (.444/.529/1.037, 3 HR, 9 R, 13 RBI)
• OF: Jon Jones, Mexico (.367/.424/.700, 3 HR, 9 R)
• OF: Jung-hoo Lee, South Korea (.385/.484/.577, 5 2B)
• DH: Brent Rooker, USA (.300/.333/.800, 3 HR)