2021 U-23 Baseball World Cup

The 2021 U-23 Baseball World Cup was the 3rd edition of the U-23 Baseball World Cup. Participating were Mexico, Taiwan, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Germany, Czech, South Korea, Colombia, Netherlands, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Panama. It was originally scheduled to be held in 2020 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rosters

Czech

P - Šimon Blažek, Filip Čapka, Tomáš Hrbek, Michal Kovala, David Mergans, Jan Nebenführ, Lukáš Pacal, Ondřej Satoria, Viktor Večerka, Jiří Hikl. C - Martin Zelenka. IF - Matěj Vlach, Filip Smola, Jakub Kubica, Ondrej Kalandra, Jan Pospíšil, Vojtěch Menšík, Martin Červinka. OF - Radim Novotný, Jakub Grepl, Daniel Ondroušek, Marek Chlup, Martin Kalábek. Mgr - Vladimír Chlup. Coaches - Aleš Navrátil, Alex Derhak, John Hussey

Dominican Republic

P - Edison Suriel, Abraham Hiraldo, Josan Méndez, Franklin Brioso, Samy Tavarez, Jesús Gómez, Nelson Tavarez, Christian Montes De Oca, Jeremy Ovalle, Carlos Peña. C - Fraudy Rodriguez, Luís Santana. IF - Lizandro Quiñones, Wadye Ynfante, Elián Chalas, Cristopher Núñez, Cristopher Pujols, Andretty Cordero, Luís Guzmán. OF - Francis Florentino, Ricardo Céspedes, Sandro Fabian. UT - Albert Suárez. Mgr - Ramón Genao. Coaches - Elvis De La Cruz, Jorge Merán, Joselito Canó

Netherlands

P - Naut Kragt, Scott Prins, Gio De Graauw, Koen Postelmans, Jiorgeny Casimiri, Eric Mendez, Jasper Elfrink, Kevin Bakker, Raf Cocu, Cal Maduro, Aaron De Groot, Jayden Gonesh. C - Dave Janssen, Yurdion Martie. IF - Diamond Silberie, Junior Martina, Tommy van de Sanden, Tyriq Kemp, Sheadion Jamanika, Delano Selassa. OF - Max Kops, Julian Rip, Shean Michel, Jeandro Tromp. Mgr. - Evert-Jan 't Hoen. Coaches - Sidney De Jong, Eugène Kingsale, Robin van Doornspeek

Taiwan

P - Yu-Hung Chen, Chih-Ting Wang, Yu-Min Lin, Ting-Yu Lin, Chun-Wei Chiu, Hao-Chun Cheng, Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, Chen-Wei Lin, Chi-Ling Hsu, Wen-Hui Pan, Chen-Hsun Lee. C - Wei-Chih Su, Hsuan-Yi Lin, Wen-Han Chang. IF - I-Wei Lee, Tsung-Che Cheng, Sheng-Hsien Chen, Sheng-Ping Chen, Wen-Hsien Chang, Yu-Chuan Lee. OF - Chen-Tso Tseng, Chen Chiu, Yu-Chen Wang, Chen-Ching Shen. Mgr. - Shih-Hsien Wu. Coaches - Chin-Lung Lee, Den-Kai Tang, Yu-Hua Lu

Mexico

P - Juan Robles, José Albertos, Raul De Los Reyes, Alemao Hernandez, Ricardo Hernández, Francisco Villegas, Alejandro Chavez, Pablo Tellez, Brayan Mumulmea, Saúl Castellanos, Jorge Leo. C - Alfredo Hurtado, Brandon Valenzuela, Kevin Zamudio. IF - Javier Salazar, Reivaj García, Eric Meza, Keven Lamas. OF - Tirso Ornelas, Fabricio Macias, Roque Salinas, Fernando Villegas Jr.. Mgr. - Enrique Reyes, Agustin Ruiz. Coaches - Armando Soto, Carlos Enrique Reyes, Emanuel Ramos, Luis Rivera, Roberto Perez Aguilar

Panama

P - Julio Avendaño, Antonio Frias, Abraham Atencio, Meliton Reyes, Julio Goff, Carlos Rodriguez, Jonathan Amaya, Jose Ojo, Jesus Sanchez, Celestino Ulloa, James González. C - Rhandall Sanchez, Danilo Abrego, Erasmo Caballero. IF - Enoc Watts, Jason Patterson, Abraham Rodríguez, Julio Gonzalez, Joshwan Wright, Adrian Montero. OF - Ronald Guardia, Erick Mordock, José Mordock, Luis Tello. Mgr. - Cristobal Giron. Coaches - Enrique Serracin, Angel Maria Hernandez, Rafael Medina, Aurelio Gonzalez

Germany

P - Samuel Steigert, Simon Liedtke, Simon Groß, Nicolas Göbert, Titus Von Kapff, Joe Cedano De Leon, Jay Hanson Christopher, Lucas Traut, Daniel Mendelsohn, Luca Kloppenburg, Yannick Wildenhain, Patrick Harrison. C - Fridolin Fink, Sebastian Oetterer, Maurice Bendrien. IF - Marco Cardoso, Alexander Schmidt, Merlin Bendlin, Lou Helmig. OF - David Dinski, David Grimes, Luca Helber, Pascal Amon, Danny Lankhorst. Mgr. - Steve Janssen. Coaches - Wayne Ough, Simon Gühring, Clemens Cichocki, Troy Williams, Kris Van Deuren

Venezuela

P - Henry Medina, Edwuin Bencomo, Héctor Rodríguez, Jervic Chávez, Luis Ojeda, Jesús Vargas, Ángel Padrón, Carlos Valero, Oscar Abreu, Wikelman Ramírez, Luis Curvelo, Nelson Hernandez. C - José Álvarez, Juan Fernández, José Sibrian. IF - Sean Mendoza, Justin López, Kelvin Melean, Antonio Piñero. OF - Jesús Lujano, Carlos Rodríguez, Anderson Meléndez, Robert Pérez Jr., Romer Cuadrado. Mgr. - Carlos García. Coaches - Alex Núñez, Omar Bencomo, Robert Pérez

Cuba

P - Dariel Fernandez, Naykel Cruz, Bryan Chi, Frank Alvarez, Jose Santos, Ubert Mejias, Jonathan Carbó, Kelbis Rodriguez, Marlon Vega, Yeinel Zayas. C - Andrys Pérez, Iván Prieto, Loidel Rodriguez. IF - Rodoleisis Moreno, Rangel Ramos, Yandi Yanez, Guillermo Garcia. OF - Geisel Cepeda, Yuddiel Gonzalez, Reinaldo Lazaga, Loidel Chapelli. UT - Miguel Gonzalez, Diasmany Palacio. Mgr. - Eriel Sánchez. Coaches - Nelson Ventura, Elizardo Guillard, Rafael Muñoz, Dioel Rafael Reyes Viquillon

Colombia

P - Jhon Peluffo, Sergio Palacio, Yeison Batista, José Altamiranda, Jorge Martínez, Carlos De Avila, Luis De Ávila, Rubén Galindo, Jasier Herrera, Alvaro Galindo, Luis Moreno, Elkin Alcala. C - Juan Zabala, Andrés Angulo, Gustavo Campero. IF - Leandro Emiliani, Hector Martinez, Fabian Pertuz, Dayan Frías. OF - Brayan Buelvas, Rafael Romero, Jesús Marriaga, Luis Castro. UT - Jordan Díaz. Mgr. - José Mosquera. Coaches - Néder Horta, Ronaldo Enrique Ramirez, Manuel Esquivia Olivio

South Korea

P - Dong-su Park, Won-tae Cho, In-beom Kim, Seung-woo Ju, Jun-ho Lee, Keon-woo Kim, Dong-ju Moon, Tae-hyeon Yun, Eun Cho, Jun-hyung Lim. C - Jun-ho Yun, Hyeong-woo Cho, Bo-keun Jeung. IF - Sang-hun Lee, Jung-hyun Park, Myeong-jun Ko, Hyo-won Jo, Min-kyu Jeong, Do-yeong Kim. OF - Jong-chan Lim, Dong-hyeong Kang, Ju-hong Park, Dong-hyeok Kim, Jae-hyuk Kim. Mgr. - Tae-ho Park. Coaches - Ki-deog Kim, Bo-myung Jung, Min-ho Kim

Nicaragua

P - Oscar Rayo, Harvin Talavera, Julio Raudez Jr., Leonardo Ortiz, Dilmer Mejia, Lenin Moran, Santos Jarquin, Wilfredo Miranda, Kevin Ramirez, Leo Crawford, Luis Castellon, Noel Jarquin. C - Alvaro Rubi. IF - Aldo Espinoza, Milkar Pérez, Omar Mendoza, Benjamin Alegria, Elián Miranda, Mike Loaisiga, William Rayo, Wandley Ocon, Brandon Fermin. OF - Cristhian Sandoval, Luis Montealto. Mgr. - Sandor Guido. Coaches - Franklin Lopez, Yader Roa, Mario Peña

Games

September 24

• Taiwan 7, Germany 0. Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, Chen-Wei Lin and Chen-Hsun Lee struck out 12 in a shutout win, and Wen-Hsien Chang was 2-for-2 with 2RBI.
• Colombia 7, Panama 1. Elkin Alcala completed the game with 5 strikeouts, and Jesús Marriaga went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI. Joshwan Wright's solo shot prevented a shutout.
• Nicaragua 6, South Korea 4. Luis Montealto crushed a homer and knocked in 5 of Nicaragua's 6 runs to help them topped South Korea.
• Venezuela 9, Netherlands 4. Robert Pérez Jr. drove in 3 runs, and Jesús Lujano went 3-for-3 as Venezuela won their opener.
• Czechia 5, Mexico 1. Out of expectation, Czech's Ondřej Satoria fanned 5 in 5 2/3 innings and they upset the defending champion. Marek Chlup drove in 3 runs with a double.

September 25

• Dominican Republic 8, Germany 4. Sandro Fabian, Francis Florentino and Fraudy Rodriguez each hit a homer, and the Dominican Republic got their first win of the event.
• Panama 13, Nicaragua 6. Panama scored 7 and destroyed their opponent in extra innings. Abraham Rodríguez was 3-for-5 with 5 RBI and a homer, and Milkar Pérez drove in 3 for Nicaragua.
• Taiwan 4, Czechia 1. Sheng-Ping Chen's 2-RBI double started a 4-run first inning for Taiwan, and Yu-Hung Chen got the win with 6 strikeouts in 6 innings.
• South Korea 8, Netherlands 7. In the bottom of the 7th inning, South Korea came from behind and scored 5 to get their first win of the event. Jong-chan Lim was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI.
• Mexico 5, Cuba 0. Alemao Hernandez, Ricardo Hernández and Juan Robles completed a 3-hit shutout with 6 strikeouts, and Fabricio Macias hit a homer.
• Venezuela 4, Colombia 3. Jesús Vargas fanned 9 in 5 innings to get the win, and Luis Curvelo saved it with 1 1/3 shutout innings.

September 26

• Germany 6, Czechia 4. Two European teams met each other, and Germany got their first win of the event. Lou Helmig, Danny Lankhorst and David Grimes each collected 2 RBI.
• Panama 5, South Korea 2. Adrian Montero was 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored, and Panama was one win away from the super round.
• Cuba 2, Taiwan 1. In a pitcher's match, Jonathan Carbó and Naykel Cruz combined to fan 11 with only 3 hits allowed. Yu-Min Lin of Taiwan got the loss although he struck 5 in 4 2/3 innings.
• Colombia 10, Netherlands 0. Luis Moreno completed a 3-hit shutout with 7 strikeouts, and Gustavo Campero was 4-for-4.
• Mexico 8, Dominican Republic 2. The hosts came from behind and scored 6 in the 6th inning. Alejandro Chavez got the win with 5 strong innings, and Keven Lamas blasted a dinger.
• Venezuela 6, Nicaragua 3. Venezuela remained undefeated in the event. José Sibrian was 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored, and Juan Fernández drove in 3 runs including a 2-run homer.

September 27

• Cuba 10, Germany 3. Yuddiel Gonzalez was 1-for-2 with 3 RBI, and Yandi Yanez drew 3 walks to help Cuba beat Germany. Marlon Vega only allowed a hit with 8 strikeouts in 5 strong innings to get the win.
• Netherlands 4, Panama 1. The Netherlands scored 4 and stayed alive for the super round. Delano Selassa collected 2 hits, and Jiorgeny Casimiri notched a save with 1 1/3 shutout innings.
• Dominican Republic 2, Czechia 0. Jeremy Ovalle fanned 7 in 5 shutout innings to get the win despite his walking 5.
• Colombia 10, Nicaragua 0. Colombia knocked out their opponent with a 2-hitter by Jorge Martínez and Luis De Ávila. Gustavo Campero went 3-for-4 with 3RBI, and Jordan Díaz also drove in 3 runs.
• Mexico 3, Taiwan 0. Pablo Tellez, Juan Robles and Ricardo Hernández combined to fan 4 and shut out Taiwan.
• Venezuela 3, South Korea 0. The 4th shutout of today was performed by Venezuela's Henry Medina, Jervic Chávez, Edwuin Bencomo and Ángel Padrón. Robert Pérez Jr.'s 2-run double was the winning hit.

September 28

• Cuba 7, Czechia 1. Jose Santos completed the game with 5 strikeouts, and Cuba collected their third win.
• Nicaragua 6, Netherlands 1. Elián Miranda crushed a homer, and Oscar Rayo got the win with 2 shutout innings.
• Taiwan 5, Dominican Republic 0. Chih-Ting Wang struck out 8 without allowing a hit in 4 innings, and three Taiwanese relievers completed a 3-hit shutout. Chen Chiu drove in 2 runs with a homer.
• Panama 3, Venezuela 2. Panama upset the only unbeaten team and advanced to the super round. Julio Avendaño got the win as he struck out 4 in 5 strong innings.
• Mexico 3, Germany 1. The defending champions got their 4th straight win with a 4-run first inning. Agustin Ruiz collected 2 RBI.
• Colombia 5, South Korea 4. Gustavo Campero again saved his country with a clutch RBI single in the 6th inning, and Sergio Palacio, who fanned 5 in 2 shutout innings.

September 29

• Cuba 6, Dominican Republic 2. In the rain-delayed opener, Naykel Cruz fanned 9 in 6 innings to help Cuba advance to the super round.

September 30

• Colombia 5, Taiwan 4. Colombia came from behind thanks to Taiwan's Hao-Chun Cheng allowing three straight walks in the 5th inning, and Andrés Angulo was plunked by Wen-Hui Pan so Jordan Díaz scored the winning run.
• Panama 2, Mexico 0. Julio Goff fanned 5 in 6 1/3 shutout innings and Panama got their first win in the super round. Abraham Rodríguez knocked in both of Panama's runs.
• Venezuela 11, Cuba 0. In the first mercy-ruled game of the event, Venezuela destroyed Cuba with a 5-hit shutout by Jesús Vargas. Carlos Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and a homer, and Juan Fernández also hit a homer.
• Netherlands 5, Germany 2. Shean Michel crushed a homer, and Kevin Bakker got the win with 3 2/3 shutout innings.
• Nicaragua 3, Czechia 0. Santos Jarquin struck out 10 in 5 innings to get the win, and Milkar Pérez drove in 2 runs with a homer. Ondřej Satoria completed the game but got loss.
• South Korea 10, Dominican Republic 4. Dong-hyeok Kim was 3-for-3 with 5 RBI to lead South Korea to their second win of the event.

October 1

• Colombia 6, Cuba 1. Luis Moreno pitched 5 shutout innings to get the win, and Gustavo Campero hit another home run.
• Taiwan 5, Panama 3. Submariner Yu-Hung Chen extended his solid performance as he completed 6 shutout innings, and Taiwan stayed alive in the Medal Game run. I-Wei Lee was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI.
• Venezuela 7, Mexico 1. Venezuela was blanked by Alejandro Chavez in the first five innings, but they came from behind and scored 5 in the last inning to secure the win. Robert Pérez Jr. collected 4 hits, and Justin López was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI.
• Nicaragua 12, Dominican Republic 3. Nicaragua's Milkar Pérez and Alvaro Rubi both got 3 hits, and Elián Miranda knocked in 5 runs. The winning pitcher was Luis Castellon, who fanned 5 in 5 innings.
• South Korea 9, Germany 1. SS Do-yeong Kim hit a 3-run homer, and backup shortstop Hyo-won Jo added a dinger. South Korea remained unbeaten in the placement round.
• Netherlands 9, Czechia 8. The closest game of the second round. Marek Chlup was 2-for-3 with 4 RBI, but catcher Martin Zelenka's throwing error in the 8th inning gave Netherlands 3 runs.

October 2

• Panama 9, Cuba 8. It was déjà vu of last day's game. Panama Adrian Montero drove in 3 runs, and Rodoleisis Moreno was 1-for-2 with 3 RBI. Cuba got the win thanks to Yuddiel Gonzalez 's walk-off hit in the 8th inning.
• Venezuela 5, Taiwan 2. Venezuela advanced to the finals with the third straight win. Héctor Rodríguez got the win as he fanned all four batters he faced.
• Mexico 3, Colombia 2. Mexico got a chance to defend their championship thanks to Tirso Ornelas's game-winning solo home run in the 6th inning.
• South Korea 6, Czechia 4. South Korea combined to strike out 13 Czech batters, and the winning pitcher was Won-tae Choi, who pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings. Vojtěch Menšík crushed a 3-run homer for Czech.
• Dominican Republic 2, Netherlands 1. Jeremy Ovalle fanned 7 in 5 shutout innings to get the win, and Andretty Cordero drove in both Dominican runs.
• Nicaragua 3, Germany 1. Dilmer Mejia completed a 6 1/3 innings one-hitter shutout with 10 strikeouts.

October 3

• Colombia 5, Cuba 3. Andrés Angulo's clutch 3-run homer helped Colombia win their first medal of this event.
• Venezuela 4, Mexico 0. Wikelman Ramírez completely blanked the defending champion's lineup with a 3-hit shutout. Justin López was 2-for-3, and Juan Fernández hit a homer to help Venezuela win their first Gold in the event.

Awards

• MVP: Gustavo Campero, Colombia OF
• Outstanding Defensive Player: Antonio Piñero, Venezuela

All-World Team

• SP: Yu-Hung Chen, Taiwan
• RP: Jhon Peluffo, Colombia
• C: Alvaro Rubi, Nicaragua
• 1B: Robert Pérez, Venezuela
• 2B: Adrian Montero, Panama
• SS: Javier Salazar, Mexico
• 3B: Milkar Pérez, Nicaragua
• OF: Gustavo Campero, Colombia
• OF: Jesús Marriaga, Colombia
• OF: Jesús Lujano, Venezuela
• DH: Erasmo Caballero, Panama