Softball On SI

Japan Wins WBSC U-15 World Cup Over Puerto Rico, USA Softball Takes Bronze

Nicole Reitz|
The USA Softball U15 National Team won bronze in the WBSC U-15 World Cup.
The USA Softball U15 National Team won bronze in the WBSC U-15 World Cup. | USA Softball

At the WBSC U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup final in Caronno Pertusella, Italy, No. 2 Japan came out resilient over No.3 Puerto Rico 4-0 to win its first-ever WBSC U-15 World Cup title. 

Japan's starting pitcher Haru Kitamura retired the first 18 batters she faced, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning. She ended up allowing a walk and a single before ending the game with her 12th strikeout. 

Kitamura and her pitching staff allowed only one run in nine games, posting a 0.12 ERA, which propelled them to this historic victory.

Their bats were just as hot, too. Japan had a .314 batting average, with two home runs and only five doubles. This growth is tremendous for the team, as they finished third at home in the inaugural edition in 2023. 

 The silver medallists, Puerto Rico, had a .336 batting average with two home runs and 11 doubles.

But Japan winning its first title wasn’t the only remarkable feat to come from the weekend. 

It’s most notable that the defending champions, No.1 U.S., despite being the best-hitting team with a .387 batting average, and five home runs, 16 doubles, and 120 total bases, fell to Puerto Rico in a shocking shutout loss in the Super Round. It was the first time Puerto Rico beat the USA in international softball, and the first time the U.S. missed a Women’s Softball World Cup Final since the WBSC U-19 Softball World Cup in 1985. 

The U.S. allowed six total runs, an ERA of 0.91, while Puerto Rico was far behind with 13 earned runs and an ERA of 1.76.  The U.S. even had the best defence in the tournament, committing only six errors. They went on to defeat Mexico for the Bronze medal. They closed out the tournament with a 7-2 record and earned their second medal in U-15 World Cup history.

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Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

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