WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Finals 2025: USA use long ball to secure second consecutive Bronze Medal
USA claimed today the bronze medal at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Finals, with a solid 10-1 win against Japan in the first medal game of the day. Home runs by Jeffrey Lewis, Erick Ochoa, Blaine Milheim and Tyler Johnson propelled USA to the podium.
This medal represents the second consecutive bronze medal for the US in the premiere men's softball tournament. It's also the 11th medal overall in the history of the program, featuring five world titles, one silver and five bronzes.
"There's a lot of other teams that would have liked to have been here and getting a bronze medal, this is an extremely great accomplishment," said Ron Hacket, head coach of the USA National Team. "We didn't come here for a bronze medal, but we certainly worked hard the entire week. Didn't have some things go our way, but that's what happens in a tournament like this. A lot of teams didn't have things go their way, but I was really proud of the guys and how they fought."
Hacket mentioned that in this tournament you really got to come to the ballpark and any small mistakes can be magnified down the road when you don't even know it, which means your team has to concentrate. "Even with some of the setbacks, we lost two games 5-4 and the other one 6-4. Both of the 5-4 games were walk-offs. You know, that's not easy to take and come back the next day, but these guys did. And I'm really proud of them for staying focused like they did. They've been rewarded with a bronze medal," he said.
Both coaches sent their aces into the circle to start the game. For USA, Marco Diaz had worked 23.1 innings in the tournament, collecting 29 strikeouts while giving up 11 runs. Japan sent Hiroki Ikeda, who had 37 strikeouts in 28 innings of work.
Diaz pitched the complete game for USA, giving up one run on eight hits while striking out six and walking two.
"The plan was simply to stay in the corners, not to stay so much over the plate, and fortunately I could do it," Diaz said."We were working here in the warm-ups, in the training before the game. So, the preparation, the consistency is what leads to perfection."
Japan took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Yusuke Morita drew a walk, advanced to third on a single by Kotaro Yasumi, and scored the game's first run on a sacrifice fly by Kaito Masaki.
"The fact that they took the lead from the beginning did not discourage us. However, it helped us to move forward," added Diaz. "The team was very united from the games we had in defeat against Japan, against New Zealand. And well, you have to do it over and over again to be able to get the next step, which was the bronze medal, and it was achieved."
Hiroki Ikeda was dominant through four innings, holding the US lineup hitless. However, in the top of the fifth, Jonathan Lynch broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single. Two walks followed, loading the bases and setting the stage for a grand slam by Jeffrey Lewis, giving the USA a 4-1 lead.
In the sixth, the US struck again with the long ball. With runners on first and second, Tyler Johnson drove a drop ball on the outer part of the plate over the left-field fence, extending the USA lead to 7-1.
In the top of the seventh, the US again used the long ball again to score big in an inning. Erick Ochoa and Blaine Milheim went back to back to give their team a comfortable 10-1 lead.
"It's sort of the hallmark of our team. We're a very dangerous offensive team when we get going. They came out a little slow today, but I think our belief in ourselves never changes," Hacket said. "And that started to shine through, and that's allowed them to get a bronze medal."
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