Welcome to the live blog of the Final Day at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Group B. A day of definitions at Rotary Field in Prince Albert, Canada, with the two tickets for next year's Finals on the line. At 4pm, No. 1 Argentina and No. 10 New Zealand will play the Final, with a ticket to the Finals at stake. Canada eliminated Singapore with an 8-0 win and moved to the 7pm Repechage game against the loser between Argentina and New Zealand. In the first game of the day, No. 24 Hong Kong, China defeated No. 16 Israel and clinched the fifth place. All games are available on the WBSC official streaming platform,GameTime.
Key News
A Corey Ng two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth proved to be the difference in Hong Kong, China's victory over Israel, 6-5, in the last day of competition in Group B. With this win, Hong King, China finished fifth in this event, while Israel was sixth.
Hong Kong, China had a 6-1 lead after four complete innings, but Israel mounted a late-inning comeback that fell just short in the end.
Yuk Sing Ling pitched 5.2 innings for Hong Kong, China, giving up six hits and five runs (only one earned), to get the win. The losing pitcher was Kfir Leon.
Canada swung the bat with authority today at Rotary Field, collecting 10 hits in four innings and leading the team to an 8-0 lead.
Mathieu Roy and Justin Laskowski homered in the first inning and secured a comfortable lead since the beginning. Blake Hunter went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
Justin Schofield pitched a five-inning no-hitter, striking out 12 batters to earn the win.
With this result, Canada advanced to the Repechage game, scheduled at 7pm later today. They will face the loser of the game between Argentina and New Zealand.
Singapore finished in fourth place in the Men's Softball World Cup GroupB.
The first ticket to the Finals will be decided between Argentina and New Zealand, first and second place finishers in the Opening Round. First pitch at 4pm. Yesterday, they faced each other and the South Americans came out victorious from the match, 4-1, to remain undefeated in the competition. The winner of the game earns a ticket to the Finals, while the loser will play the Repechage game, at 7pm, against the winner of the game between Canada and Singapore.
Key Links
Bottom 4th - Canada extend the lead to 8-0 with win-scoring single from Jeff Lyons.
Bottom 2nd - A two-run single off the bat of Blake Hunter make the score 7-0 for the red and white team. Jordan Pomeroy and Mathieu Roy singled and then scored the runs.
Bottom 1st - Canada used a pair of long balls to get a comfortable 5-0 lead in their first at bat. Mathieu Roy hit a lead-off homer and Justin Laskowski belted a two-run shot to right field. Cory Jones contributed with an RBI single.
Bottom 1st - Veteran Mathieu Roy gives Canada an early lead with e lead-off homer to right field. Canada strike first, are leading Singapore 1-0.
Starting pitchers - Justin Schofield (CAN) vs Raynard Heng (SGP)
Preview - The second game of the day will be an elimination game between Canada and Singapore, which finished third and fourth place respectively in the Opening Round. They played each other in Game 6, when the hosts defeated the Asians, 7-1. However, the game was closer than the result indicates, since it remained tied at one until the fifth, when Singapore pulled their starter. Canada scored five in the seventh off the second Singapore reliever. The game is scheduled at 1pm, with the winner advancing to the repechage game at 7pm.
Top 6th - Israel loaded the bases and scored once on a Ryan Willen walk. However, relief pitcher Hot Kong Wong replaced Ling in the circle and forced Oren Bobrov to a grounder to third base and escaped the jam. Hong Kong, China's lead is now 6-5.
Top 5th - Israel score three to make it 6-4. Two hits from Kfir Leon and Seth Ross, and a defensive error opened the door for an Israel rally.
Bottom 4th - Corey Ng homers to left field with a runner on. It's Ng second homer of the day, both against Israel.
Top 4th - Israel score their first run of the game after a defensive error. The game is now 4-1.
Bottom 3rd - Hong Kong, China take the lead. An Rbi single from Shun Hei Ng and a pair of defensive miscues allowed the Asians to score four runs. Hong Kong, China leading 4-0.
Starting pitchers - Kfir Leon (ISR) vs Yuk Sing Ling (HKG).
Preview - In the first game of the day, Hong Kong, China and Israel will face each other for the fifth place in Group B. The Asians finished the Opening Round with a 1-4 record, while Israel ended the round with 0-5. Their meeting in the Opening Round finished with a 3-2 Hong Kong, China win. First pitch at 10am.
