The Team Australia U18 squad has been giving it their all at the WBSC U18 World Cup at Okinawa, Japan, which started on September 5th.
Team Australia’s first game saw them fall 5-4 against Germany in a tightly contested game, where the Germans caught up from three runs down with three unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth.
However, the Australians showed strong performances with NSW’ Christian Lane turning in two hits, while the pitching staff of Mitch Evans, Riley Puckett (NSW), and Kristian Haeusler each doing well on the mound.
In their second game, Team Australia edged out Panama with a 4-1 victory in a must-win game for both sides. A combination of terrific pitching, clutch hitting, and stellar defense helped the Australians avoid falling down an 0-2 hole in the tournament.
NSW Pitchers Ethan Bickel and Damien Wilson stunned! Wilson threw 5.0 innings and allowed only one earned run off five hits, walking none and striking out two. Meanwhile, Ethan Bickel closed out the game with two shutout innings.
On the offensive side, Cooper Teichmann gave the Australians a 2-0 lead in the fourth, while our very own Josh Nati sealed the game with a two-out, two-RBI double in the seventh.
Then, in their third game, the Australians won an impressive 15-3 blowout of China to improve to 2-1 in the standings. Their dominant win was also the biggest win by any team in the 2025 U18 World Cup so far!
The Australians notched 13 hits while allowing only two, as the game was called early because of the run rule.
Likewise, they relied on a complete team effort to deliver the win, as ten different players had at least one hit. Leading the way was Eita Samukawa, who went 3-3 with four runs and a hit-by-pitch.
In his first start for the U18 squad, Devin Leahy went 2-3. Additionally our NSW boy’s bats were on fire as Matt Trainor put in four RBI, while Josh Nati drove in three and Ashton Kennedy reached base three times.
Congratulations to all of our NSW representatives, both on the diamond and in the Coaching Staff, who competed in the World Cup! We are very proud of your achievements.
Relive the U-18 World Cup games by checking out the WBSC’s official streaming service, Gametime.sport! You can also watch the games live on Baseball+.
Photo from Baseball Australia (baseball.com.au)