TAINAN, Taiwan – The United States notched back-to-back wins after throwing a three-hit, 6-0 shutout of Czechia Saturday morning. The red, white, and blue is aiming for its third straight win Sunday morning as the team turns its attention to South Africa.
After the second day of pool play, the U.S. and Korea are the lone teams in Group B that remain undefeated with 2-0 records. Korea picked up back-to-back wins after downing the Dominican Republic, 6-0, in the last game of the day. in Group B.
In Group A, Mexico threw its second no-hitter in as many days and defeated Germany 9-1, while Japan and Chinese-Taipei both picked up day two wins and improved to 2-0 as well.
Team USA, along with four other teams in its pool, is competing for one of two berths in Group B to advance to the World Cup Super Round stage. All team records and Group B standings can be found here.
LAST TIME OUT
The United States earned a win Saturday morning and shut out Czechia, 6-0, on the second day of pool play. In the win, Team USA collected seven hits as a team and allowed only three hits to its opponents.
Barret Schell got the nod and delivered a three inning performance, striking out four while allowing just two hits in the process. In addition, he belted a two-run home run in the third inning to tack on a pair of insurance runs for the United States. Jameson Wilhite and Mason Bitzenhofer combined for five strikeouts over three innings of work to preserve the shutout of Czechia.
Jaxon Spray and Radner Roth each picked up a pair of hits in today’s win. Meanwhile, Schell and Russell McGee accounted for two RBIs apiece while Nolan Hatch scored two runs and tallied a hit.
More on yesterday’s game can be found here.
PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Hardin Sullivan (USA) vs. RHP Casey Uys (RSA)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
After two days of competition, South Africa sits at 0-2 and at the bottom of the Group B standings. After losing its first game to Korea 17-0, South Africa managed to scratch across a run in yesterday’s 11-1 loss against Panama.
Over the past two contests, South Africa has posted a pair of dismal performances, as the team has a combined three hits, surrendered 28 runs, and netted 11 errors in the field. Three players have a hit apiece while Mason Sage has only RBI on the team. Seven players have seen time on the mound and the staff owns a 14.09 combined ERA.
HISTORY AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA
The 12U National Team has matched up only one time against South Africa, as the two teams have met in the final game of competition in the 2019 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup. Team USA not only downed South Africa 18-0, but racked up 17 hits and tossed a no-hitter over the four-inning affair.
TEAM USA STAT LEADERS
- HITS: Christopher Chikodroff, Radner Roth (3)
- RBIs: Kristian Valadez (3)
- RUNS: Many tied (2)
- TB: Christopher Chikodroff (5)
- BB: Kristian Valadez (2)
- IP: Brock Bliss, Barret Schell, Kristian Valadez (3.0)
- Ks: Barret Schell, Jameson Wilhite (4)
GROUP B STANDINGS
Korea (2-0)
United States (2-0)
Dominican Republic (1-1)
Panama (1-1)
Czechia (0-2)
South Africa (0-2)
INSIDE THE ROSTER
The 18-player roster features 12 athletes who were invited to Training Camp following the 11U Futures Invitational, while the remaining six were previously selected from last summer’s 11U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup. Overall, 11 states are represented among the 18 players on this year’s roster. Texas leads all states with three athletes, while Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, and Virginia are each represented by two players apiece. California, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington are responsible for the remaining seven athletes. The 2025 12U National Team roster can be found here.
AT THE HELM
Team USA is led by two-time 12U National Team Manager Bryan Madsen – who helped secure a gold medal and a World Cup qualification last October in Panama. Alongside Madsen is a veteran group of coaches, including Wes Brooks, Erick Quesada, and Roger Wright. Brooks serves as pitching coach for the second consecutive summer while Quesada and Wright will take on assistant coaching roles. Madsen and Quesada make their second appearance on a World Cup roster, having previously served on staff of the gold medal-winning 2023 12U National Team. Likewise, this will be the second consecutive summer that Brooks and Wright suit up in a Team USA uniform.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can watch the game here and also follow live stats, while highlights and updates can be found on the 12U National Team Twitter/X account.
SCHEDULE
The schedule for the VIII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup is as follows:
- July 28 - Korea - 6:30 a.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. local
- July 29 - Dominican Republic - 2:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. local
- July 31-August 3 - Super Round/Medal Round - TBD
SOCIAL MEDIA
To follow along with all the action with the 12U National Team, be sure to follow @USABaseball12U on Twitter/X and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X.
