USA takes 12U Baseball World Cup with victory over Chinese Taipei

28 July 2013

 Team USA captures 12U Baseball World Cup with 8-1 victory over Chinese Taipei

-   USA stung for 7 runs in the second and secured World Cup with 8-1 win.

-   More than 10,000 fans crowded Tianmu Stadium in Taipei City for the Gold Medal match.

-   Impressive success, ticket sales and sponsorship of 12U BWC boost WBSC Olympic bid

    and showcase a sport entering "Golden Era".

-   The 12U Baseball World Cup is the only national team world championship across all sports

    in this youth category.

 Box Score 

TAIPEI CITY (TPE) - Team USA has won the II 12U Baseball World Cup, defeating defending champion Chinese Taipei by a score of 8-1 before sold out crowd of more than 10,000 fans at Taipei City's Tianmu Stadium.

The 14-nation 12-and-Under Baseball World Cup, sanctioned by the international baseball governing body, is the only national team world championship across all sports in this youth category.

Team USA used 7 runs in the bottom of the second and a strong pitching performance by Simi Valley, California's Justin Campbell to claim the world title in their first ever international competition appearance.

Today's Baseball World Cup matchup was the first time in history that the national teams of Chinese Taipei and USA met each other at the 12U level.

USA moved past the then undefeated Japan in the semifinals on Saturday, with a 9-1 win, while Chinese Taipei shut down Venezuela 8-0 to cash in their ticket to the gold medal game.

Team USA finished the BWC with nine wins against one loss, which came in the opening round to national powerhouse Venezuela.

Chinese Taipei, which defeated Cuba for gold in the inaugural 12U BWC in 2011, takes home the silver, while Samurai Japan defeated Venezuela 8-2 earlier in the day at Tianmu Stadium to claim the Bronze medal.

The III 12U Baseball World Cup will next be celebrated in 2015.

The staging of the 12U BWC comes ahead of the September 8th vote by the International Olympic Committee in September on whether to include baseball and softball in 2020 Olympic Games.

The impressive success, ticket sales and sponsorship of this summer's 12U BWC gives a strong boost to the PlayBall2020 campaign and showcases the significant value and appeal that a baseball/softball package would deliver to both the Olympics and subsequent Youth Olympic Games.

The 12U BWC is part of the World Baseball Softball Confederation's global development strategy to spread baseball and softball across the globe and attract future generations of boys and girls.

Already played in more than 140 countries, baseball and softball comprise one of the largest youth bases of athletes and followers in the sporting world.

More than 65 million athletes of all ages play baseball and softball at various levels.

Over 150 million fans worldwide attended baseball games in 2012, making it, together with softball, one of the most popular and entertaining sports in the world across both genders, and the biggest not under the Olympic umbrella.

WBSC leaders are also very encouraged with Europe's significant advancements over the last few years and the accelerating developmental trends in places like China, Africa, India, Pakistan, Brazil and South America.

To meet the growth demands, an international boom in construction activity has taken off in baseball/softball, with new facilities built or planned in Africa, Europe, Central and South America, and South Asia.

The WBSC feels that the current global snapshot of international baseball and softball indicates the sports are entering a Golden Era of growth and that the sports would be delivered at never-seen-before heights to the 2020 Olympics, thus spreading Olympic values and excellence to future generations of young people around the world to advance the Olympic Movement.

If included in the 2020 Olympics and eventual Youth Olympic Games, baseball/softball would be unlike any other sport on the Olympic Programme, bringing new and unique sporting skills and qualities to Olympic fans and viewers as the only bat and ball sport at the Games, helping to balance and diversify the Olympic programme and Olympic Games experience, as well as tapping into one of the largest pools of young boy and girls followers in the world. 

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Final Out photo can be downloaded here.

For World Cup Final video highlights:  http://tinyurl.com/2013-12U-BWC-Gold-Medal-Game 

For complete 2013 12U BWC tournament info and final standings, visit: www.12uBaseballWorldCup.org.

12U Baseball World Cup International rules:

-   Leads on bases are permitted

-   Off-speed pitches (i.e., curveballs, change-ups, etc.) are permitted