U.S. claims gold in Under-18 Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Canada falls in bronze medal game
The United States national junior baseball team has earned the title of world champion.
The U.S. squad claimed the gold medal in the 2017 Under-18 Baseball World Cup on Sunday, beating Korea 8-0 in a packed Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ont.
The Final Out <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/U18WorldCup?src=hash">#U18WorldCup</a>🏆 <a href="https://twitter.com/USABaseball18U">@USABaseball18u</a> <a href="https://t.co/eZRHTIcwSS">pic.twitter.com/eZRHTIcwSS</a>
—@WBSCBut that's not all — the win also pushed the United States to an undefeated 9-0 record for the 10-day tournament, which began on September 1.
Japan, meanwhile, took the bronze, beating Canada 8-1.
Round robin rally
It was the end of a long road for Team Canada, one that included an impressive run in the later days of the round robin.
🇺🇸 The Dog Pile <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/U18WorldCup?src=hash">#U18WorldCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/GVpQ3qZFyq">pic.twitter.com/GVpQ3qZFyq</a>
—@WBSCCanada began the tournament with losses in their two opening games. That put the team in a tough position — they had to win every remaining match if they were to make the playoffs and have a chance at the gold medal.
And they did — backs-to-the-wall wins over Italy, Australia and Nicaragua saw Canada earn a spot in the Super Round.
But while Canada was able to topple Japan and Cuba in the playoffs, they couldn't beat the U.S. powerhouse, so gold remained out of reach.
In the consolation round, played Saturday at Baseball Central, Nicaragua beat Mexico 10-4, Chinese Taipei defeated South Africa 3-0, and the Netherlands edged Italy 2-1.