It’s been a big month for baseball and softball in Oceania, with several qualifying events to lock in World Cup spots.
World No. 23 New Zealand and No. 7 Australia qualified for the U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage by finishing first and second respectively in the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup Oceania Qualifier at the Tony Solaita Field in Tafuba, American Samoa.
Defending champions and world No. 2 Australia and No. 7 New Zealand qualified for the Group Stage of the XVIII Men’s Softball World Cup due to take place next year after finishing first and second respectively at the Oceania Qualifier at Tony Solaita Field in Tafuba, American Samoa.
Australia and New Zealand also represented at the WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup in Hermosillo, Mexico, finishing fifth and ninth, respectively. Australia is the new No. 1 in the Men’s Softball World Rankings, with New Zealand sitting eighth.
On the baseball diamond, Australia swept Guam in a three-game series for the U-23 Baseball World Cup Qualifier. Next up, Guam will host New Zealand for a spot in the U-15 Baseball World Cup.
Team Australia also enjoyed an action-packed week at the inaugural Youth Baseball5 World Cup, playing alongside 11 other countries in the historic event.
The mixed-gender team, made up of players from New South Wales and Victoria, battled in Group B vs Korea, France, Taiwan, Ghana, and Mexico to start the tournament, which ran from 10-15 October in Ankara, Türkiye.
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