Australia join world No. 1 Japan, No. 2 Chinese Taipei, No. 5 USA, No. 6 Korea, No.9 Cuba, No. 10 Panama, No. 12 Dominican Republic and No. 17 Germany, in next year’s WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup.
World No. 12 Australia became the ninth qualified team for the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 2025 after beating No. 38 Guam, 19-4, in the final of the Oceania Qualifier held in Guam. Australia finished on top of the three-team event to earn their ticket to next year’s World Cup in Tainan city (TPE).
View this post on Instagram
The tournament opened with a double round robin. Both Australia and Guam finished tied on top of the round robin standings, with a 3-1 record. Both teams swept their games against No. 63 Mariana Islands and split their doubleheader, setting up a winner-takes-all final with the lone available ticket to Taiwan at stake.
Guam scored twice in the top of the first inning, but Australia answered right away with an offensive outburst, scoring six in the first, two in the second, five in the third and six in the fourth to finish the game. Phillip Toye led the team with four RBI, while Ezekiel Coughlin and Izaac Johnson each pitched for Australia.
With the win, Australia join No. 1 Japan, No. 2 Chinese Taipei, No. 5 USA, No. 6 Korea, No.9 Cuba, No. 10 Panama, No. 12 Dominican Republic and No. 17 Germany, in next year’s WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan city (TPE). WBSC Africa will qualify one team, while the WBSC Executive Board will allocate two Wild Cards to complete the 12-team field.
The 2025 World Cup will represent Australia’s fifth appearance in the competition. The green and gold squad has finished 10th place on three occasions, while they ended in 11th place in the previous edition of the event in 2023.
Guam and Mariana Islands have never participated in the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup. The other two Oceania nations to have previously qualified for the event have been Fiji and New Zealand.
View this post on Instagram