2023 U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup

USA 8, Venezuela 5

The USA Softball U-18 Men’s National Team (MNT) kicked off Opening Round of the 2023 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup with an 8-5 win over Venezuela. Three U.S. batters posted a multi-hit performance at the plate including Wylie Baumer, Braden DuCharme and Brody Von Berge who each went 2-for-4 on the day. The U.S. pitching staff of Cody Gibbons, Karson Martin and Kyle Miller took care of business in the circle with a combined 11 strikeouts and only two earned runs allowed.

Venezuela got off to an early lead after a pair of singles put Venezuela ahead in the top of the first, 1-0, while singles in the second and third innings strengthened the Venezuela lead, 3-0. Drawing a lead-off walk in the bottom of the third, Logan Boom made his way around the bases to pressure the Venezuela defense into an error that allowed him to speed home, putting the first U.S. run on the board and narrowing the Venezuela lead, 3-1. The top of the fourth saw another Venezuela run cross the plate following an error, an intentional walk and a pitching violation, putting Venezuela ahead, 4-1, while Brennan DuCharme relit the spark for the U.S. with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, tightening the Venezuela lead, 3-4. A triple, another intentional walk and a passed ball allowed Venezuela to plate one in the top of the sixth, before the U.S. put five additional runs on the board to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by an RBI-single from Manny Mendham and a three-run long shot from Boom. Braden DuCharme kept the momentum going with a single to right field, followed by a walk from Gibbons that set the stage for a single from Wylie Baumer to plate the final U.S. run of the game, extending the U.S. lead, 8-5. Kyle Miller held strong in the circle in the top of the seventh to seal the victory for the Eagles.

USA 9, Japan 1 (5)

The U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team (MNT) proved dominant through Day 2 of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Men’s World Cup following a 9-1 run-rule victory over Japan. Highlighted by home runs off the bats of Wylie Baumer and Manny Mendham, the Eagles offense combined for 10 hits on the day with two U.S. batters tabbing a multi-hit performance at the plate – including Logan Boom (3-for-4) and Brennan DuCharme (2-for-3). Cody Gibbons got the start in the circle for the U.S., fanning four batters while allowing only three hits through five innings.  

Quiet through the first inning, Baumer lit the spark for the Eagles in the top of the second with a lead-off home run to snag the U.S. lead, 1-0. Mendham then followed suit in the top of the third with another lead-off home run, while a series of singles put an additional run on the board, putting the U.S. ahead, 3-0. Following an intentional walk to Baumer that filled the bases, Brody Von Berge sent a line drive double to center field to clear the bases, extending the U.S. lead, 6-0. Japan got on the board in the bottom of the third after a lead-off single and a double saw one run cross the plate, narrowing the U.S. lead, 6-1. Despite a quiet fourth inning, Team USA saw its final three runs of the game in the top of the fifth thanks to a bases-loaded walk, a wild pitch and a sac-fly from Mendham that put the U.S. on top, 9-1. Gibbons held strong in the circle, retiring three of four batters faced to seal the win in run-rule fashion.

USA 2, Argentina 0

Behind the arm of Cody Gibbons and some heads-up base running from the U.S. offense, Team USA picked up its third-straight win at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Men’s World Cup with a narrow 2-0 victory over world-ranked No. 1 Argentina to remain undefeated.

Starting off with a lead-off walk to Logan Boom and a double from Braden DuCharme, the duo made their way around the bases for a passed ball and a wild pitch to put the U.S. ahead in the bottom of the first, 2-0. A true defensive showdown, neither side was able to break the silence through the rest of the matchup, while Gibbons proved dominant in the circle – fanning 11 batters while allowing only three hits through seven innings. A quiet day for the U.S. bats, Braden DuCharme was the only U.S. batter to record a hit in the matchup – posting a 2-for-3 multi-hit performance at the plate for the Eagles. Today’s matchup proved to be a key win for Team USA as it edged the world-ranked No. 1 team for the second time this year – previously defeating Argentina at the 2023 Pan American Championship with a 2-1 victory in September.

USA 8, New Zealand 10

Closing out Opening Round, the U-18 Men’s National Team (MNT) suffered its first loss of the 2023 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Men’s World Cup after falling 8-10 to New Zealand in the final matchup of Opening Round. Keeping the Eagles in the game with a grand slam was Brody Von Berge followed by Wylie Baumer (2-for-4), Brennan DuCharme (2-for-4) and Manny Mendham (2-for-3) who each tallied a multi-hit performance in the matchup. Despite today’s loss, Team USA will advance to Super Round as the No. 1 seed in Group B and will face Mexico ­– the No. 1 seed in Group A ­– tomorrow at 8 p.m. GMT (9 p.m. CT).

The U.S. got ahead early thanks to a double from Brennan DuCharme and a walk to Cody Gibbons that put runners in place for Baumer to hit a single to plate one in the bottom of the first. A walk to Ian Carlin then set the stage for Von Berge to blast a grand slam shot over the center field fence to put the Eagles ahead, 5-0. New Zealand answered back in the top of the second after a single, an RBI and an error narrowed the U.S. lead, 5-2. A pair of walks and a two-RBI base hit from the Kiwis saw two more runs cross the plate, tightening the U.S. lead, 5-4. A true offensive battle, the U.S. tacked on two more in the bottom of the second thanks to a line drive single from Gibbons while New Zealand followed suit with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth due to a two-run shot over center field – with the U.S. still ahead, 7-6. The Kiwis then took the lead after a series of walks and a fielding miscue from the U.S. defense saw two more runs across in the top of the fourth. Looking for a comeback, Mendham came out in the bottom of the fourth with a lead-off single while Braden DuCharme hit a line drive double to plate one, narrowing the New Zealand lead, 8-9. The Kiwis saw their final run of the game in the top of the seventh after a home run shot to right field, while the U.S. was unable to muster any runs in the bottom of the inning to seal the game.

USA 1, Mexico 8 (5)

The U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team (MNT) came up short in Game 1 of Super Round at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Men’s World Cup, falling 8-1 to Mexico in five innings. Today’s loss brings the Eagles to an overall 3-2 record, with two matchups of Super Round left to play.

The U.S. offense struggled to come alive in today’s matchups with a combined two hits on the day, with one hit apiece off the bats of Braden DuCharme and Brody Von Berge. Cody Gibbons got the start in the circle for the Eagles, fanning five batters while allowing only two earned runs through five innings.

Team Mexico took the lead in the top of the second after a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and a walk to plate two, followed by a grand slam that put Mexico ahead, 6-0. The Red, White and Blue got on the board in the bottom of the second thanks to a walk to Baumer and a single from Von Berge that was capped with an RBI-ground out from Ian Carlin to plate one, narrowing the Mexico lead, 6-1. With quiet bats from both sides through the third and fourth innings, Mexico came out in the top of the fifth with a lead-off walk and a single that put runners in place for a sac-bunt to score one, while an additional single pushed the final run of the game across the plate to extend the Mexico lead, 8-1. With the run-rule in effect, the Eagles were unable to muster any runs in the bottom of the fifth – falling 8-1 to Mexico in five innings.  

USA 5, Canada 10

Team USA fell short in Game 2 of Super Round at the 2023 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Men’s World Cup, suffering a 10-5 loss to Team Canada to bring the U.S. to an overall 3-3 record. With one Super Round matchup remaining, the U.S. will play Australia tomorrow at 2 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. CT) with a chance at the bronze medal game on the line.

With the U.S. bats unable to come alive, the offense managed just four hits on the day with Logan Boom, Braden DuCharme, Cody Gibbons and Karson Martin each collecting a hit in the matchup. The pitching staff of Gibbons, Martin and Kyle Miller combined for eight strikeouts in the matchup with Gibbons leading the charge fanning seven.

A lead-off walk to Boom and a double from Gibbons put the U.S. on the board in the bottom of the first while Canada scored their first run in the top of the second after a fielding miscue from the U.S. defense and triple evened the score, 1-1. A single and a series of walks gave Canada the lead in the top of the fourth, which was followed by an RBI to put the Canadians ahead, 3-1. Answering back, Braden DuCharme came out in the bottom of the fourth with a lead-off single that was paired with a hit-by-pitch to Gibbons that put runners in place for Wylie Baumer to push one in, while a sac-fly from Brody Von Berge tied up the game, 3-3. Canada once again took the lead in the top of the fifth following a U.S. error that gave Canada a one-run edge, 4-3. Following two home runs and a double in the top of the sixth, Canada extended the lead to 9-3 while their final run of the game came in the top of the seventh after an additional double. Looking to re-ignite the spark for the U.S., Karson Martin stepped up in the bottom of the seventh with a lead-off base hit followed by an error from the Canadian defense and a single from Boom to fill the bases. A pair of bases-loaded walks put two more on the board for the U.S., but the Eagles were unable to make the comeback before the final out of the game – suffering a 10-5 loss to Canada.  

USA 4, Australia 3

The U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team (MNT) improved to 4-3 today at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Men’s World Cup after claiming a tight 4-3 victory over world-ranked No. 2 Australia. Shining for the U.S. at the plate was Braden DuCharme who posted the only multi-hit performance at the plate, going 3-for-4 on the day. Going the distance in the circle for the Eagles was Cody Gibbons, tossing eight strikeouts while limiting the Australia offense to two earned runs through seven innings. Today’s win advanced the Eagles to the Medal Round, with the specific medal matchup still to be determined by the results of today’s games between Canada vs Venezuela and Japan vs Mexico. For live updates on the medal round, follow the U.S. U-18 MNT on Twitter.

Australia got on the board early due to a fielding miscue from the U.S. defense and a line drive double in the top of the first that put the Aussies ahead, 1-0. The DuCharme duo lit the spark for the U.S. in the bottom of the third after a walk to Brennan and a triple from Braden evened the score, 1-1. A true back-and-forth battle, Australia took the lead once again in the top of the fourth with a hit-by-pitch and a double, while a single from Drake Varela in the bottom of the fourth tied it up again, 2-2. With three runners on base, Braden DuCharme then sent his second hit of the day to right field to plate one, clinching the U.S. lead, 3-2. The bottom of the sixth saw the DuCharme duo step up for the Eagles once again following a single from Brennan and another triple from Braden that sent the final U.S. run across the plate and extended the U.S. lead, 4-2. Australia put one on the board in the top of the seventh with a home run over the center field fence, while Gibbons and the Eagles defense held strong – recording the final two outs with a strikeout and a ground out to seal the win.

USA 1, Canada 2

Despite out-hitting its opponent, the U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team (MNT) suffered a narrow 2-1 loss to Canada in the bronze medal matchup to close out the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Men’s World Cup. The Eagles round out the tournament with their second-highest finish in World Cup history, finishing second in 1981 and 1985 while also claiming fourth place in 1989. Today’s matchup signifies the first medal game appearance for the Red, White and Blue in 34 years.

The Eagles got on the board early in the game thanks to an RBI-single from Wylie Baumer while the U.S. defense held strong to keep the 1-0 lead until the sixth inning when Canada sent a two-run homer over the left field fence to claim the lead, 2-1. Despite runners on base in the top of the seventh, the U.S. was unable to muster any runs to take back the lead, giving Canada the 2-1 win. Keeping the U.S. in the game with another strong offensive performance was Braden DuCharme (2-for-3), who was the only U.S. batter to post a multi-hit performance on the day – followed by Cody Gibbons and Baumer who each tallied a solo base knock in the matchup. Gibbons held steady in the circle for the U.S., tossing six strikeouts and allowing only three hits through six innings.