Argentina takes first place in WBSC Group B qualifying

Argentina started the week as the number one team in the world and proved it in Prince Albert with a perfect 6-0 record in the Group B qualifying match of the WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship.

Argentina went a perfect 5-0 in the round robin and defeated New Zealand 6-5 in the final to earn a ticket to return to Prince Albert in 2025 for the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Finals.

Argentina coach Jose Guerrinieri spoke to the Daily Herald after their win over New Zealand, with the assistance of interpreter Joan Garcia.

“They’re very happy, very proud,” Guerrinieri said. “They work very hard. They train very hard, so they’re happy that it was fruitful in the end.”

Argentina took the lead in the bottom of the first inning when Juan Zara Teo Migliavacca hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field.

New Zealand would respond in the top half of the fourth inning with four runs. Wayne Laulu would single to center. Two batters later, Rhys Evans would tie the game with a double down the left field line.

The next batter, Beau Bishop, hit a three-run home run to center field to give New Zealand a 4-1 lead.

Then Mother Nature would come into play and the game would have a brief rain delay. After the delay, the Argentine bats came to life in the bottom of the fourth.

Lucio Retamar would cut the difference to just one with a two-run homerun to center. A sacrifice fly by Luciano Biondi would tie the score at 4-4 after four innings.

For the second time in the game, the skies cleared and there was another extended weather delay, lasting over two hours.

After the field was prepared by volunteers, the game continued. In the fifth inning, Manuel Godoy scored on a wild pitch.

Ben Enoka tied the score for New Zealand in the sixth inning with a groundout to shortstop, scoring Rhys Evans.

A wild pitch by New Zealand reliever Daniel Chapman in the sixth inning allowed Gian Scilacomo to score from third base, giving Argentina a 6-5 lead going into the seventh quarter.

Martin Gonzalez threw a clean inning, earning the save and securing the victory for Argentina.

The match lasted more than six hours due to varying weather conditions.

“It’s part of the sport,” Guerrinieri said. “They know they have to adapt to the circumstances they face. They’ve been through similar situations in the past and they were ready.”

In the Group A qualifier held last month in Hermosillo, Mexico, Venezuela went undefeated in the round robin matches but lost both the final and the repechage, thus failing to automatically qualify for 2024 in Prince Albert.

Argentina secured the Group B qualifying rankings to book a trip to Prince Albert next summer.

“It gives them a lot of confidence that they did well this year,” Guerrinieri said. “They understand that this is a tough sport, a competitive sport and they will prepare for next year the same way they did this year.”

Guerrinierri also said that Argentina enjoyed their stay in Prince Albert and look forward to returning in 2025.

“They are very grateful and appreciative of the way they have been treated here by the people of Prince Albert. They are very excited to come back and experience it all again and compete for the title.”

[email protected]

-Advertisement-