Top-10 WBSC Softball World Cup Plays of the Year: No. 1 Ryuga Umeda (Japan)
The countdown is over! The best play of the year in the WBSC Softball World Cups was the last play of the season. Japan's centre fielder Ryuga Umeda hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning to give his nation the WBSC U-18 Men's Softball World Cup title.
Japan and Mexico, the two best teams in the tournament, met in the World Championship Final on 19 November at the Fernando Ortiz Stadium in Hermosillo, Mexico. The last innings of the game were a thrilling climax to a superb final. Japan took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth, with an RBI single from pinch-hitter Eito Yodogawa. However, in the top of the seventh with one out on the scoreboard, Mexico's captain smashed a solo homer to centre field to send the game to extra innings.
After failing to score in the top half of the eight, Mexico loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of intentional walks. But Umeda sent a 1-1 pitch from Derek Anceno over the left field wall to end the tournament with a walk-off grand slam, giving Japan the World Title.
The win clinched Japan's fourth World Championship in the history of the event, and the second in a row after claiming the honours in 2020.
WBSC Softball World Cup Plays of the Year
- No. 10 Samantha Alekman (USA) - U-15 Women's Softball World Cup
- No. 9 Angelu Gabriel (Philippines) - Women's Softball World Cup Group C
- No. 8 Uxua Modrego (Spain) - Women's Softball World Cup Group B
- No. 7 Sebastian Hassell (Venezuela) - U-18 Men's Softball World Cup
- No. 6 Janet Leung (Canada) - Women's Softball World Cup Group C
- No. 5 Ryuji OKawa (Japan) - U-23 Men's Softball World Cup
- No. 4 Erika Piancastelli (Italy) - Women's Softball World Cup Group C
- No. 3 Kee Hyun Yap (Singapore) - U-18 Men's Softball World Cup
- No. 2 Logan Bester (Puerto Rico) - U-15 Women's Softball World Cup