OKINAWA, Japan – The 18U National Team begins World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Super Round play on Thursday, taking on Japan in a battle of unbeaten teams. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. JST/5:30 a.m. ET from Okinawa Cellular Stadium.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LHP Ryosuke Sueyoshi (JPN) vs. LHP Carson Bolemon (USA)
LAST TIME OUT
Team USA pulled away with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Australia, 11-1, and finish pool play with an undefeated record on Tuesday morning in Okinawa. The game was close early on, as Coleman Borthwick dominated over the first three innings while the U.S. capitalized on Australia’s defensive miscues to take an early lead. Borthwick pitched three perfect innings, and Team USA scored four runs over the first two innings. After Australia got a run across to make it a three-run game in the fifth, the U.S. bats woke up and rattled off seven runs. Andrew Costello delivered a big hit in the rally as he blooped a single into no-man’s land with the bases loaded to bring home two runs before a throwing error allowed the third run to score. Jaden Jackson followed with an RBI single on the next pitch before two bases-loaded walks brought home the final tally.
HISTORY AGAINST JAPAN
Team USA is 7-4 in 11 all-time matchups against Japan at the U-18 level. The two nations first met in 1999 at the IBA Junior World Cup and most recently faced off in the Super Round at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2023, a 4-3 victory for Japan. Six of the 11 games between the U.S. and Japan have been decided by three runs or fewer.
KINGS OF THE HILL
Thursday’s matchup features the top two pitching staffs in the World Cup. Team USA leads the tournament in ERA (0.44), followed by Japan’s 0.64 mark. Both teams have struck out 46 batters–second to only Chinese Taipei–and both staffs have held opponents to miniscule batting averages (USA: .123, JPN. .173). They are the only two nations to have not allowed an extra-base hit through five games.
PUTTING UP NUMBERS
In addition to the dominant pitching, Team USA’s offense finds itself atop the tournament leaderboard in nearly every category. The team has 45 hits, 43 runs, a .344 average, a .896 OPS, and 29 walks, all tops in the tournament. Additionally, the stars and stripes have only struck out 17 times in five games, just two more than Korea’s tournament-leading 15.
BOLEMON’S BACK
U.S. starter Carson Bolemon is looking to build off his first start of the tournament, which featured five hitless innings as part of a combined no-hitter in a win over Chinese Taipei. The southpaw was dominant for his five innings of work, yielding just two hits and punching out 11 batters. His 11 strikeouts put him in a tie for second-most at the World Cup.
OFF TO A GOOD START
2025 marks the 10th time in 32 trips to the World Cup that Team USA has won its first five tournament games. With a win on Thursday, the U.S. would win its first six World Cup games for only the fifth time in program history, and the first time since 2017.
SWIPING BAGS
The U.S. has stolen 12 bases through five games, leading all teams in the World Cup. Six of those swiped bags came against China. Team USA is the only competing nation that has not been caught stealing (min. 3 attempts). Thursday’s matchup will feature the two individual tournament leaders in stolen bases: Team USA’s Anthony Murphy and Japan’s Hyuma Okabe.
RUIZ RAKES
Shortstop Aiden Ruiz has been a key cog in the U.S. offense out of the two-hole. Ruiz is tied for the tournament lead in hits with eight and ranks second in RBIs with six. The New York native has three multi-hit games including a three-hit tournament opener against Panama. He carries a .471 average into the Super Round.
THE ROSTER
The 20-player Team USA roster features five USA Baseball alumni, 10 players with USA Baseball national team development programming experience, and four players who have participated in MLB Develops events and programming. Grady Emerson is appearing on a national team roster for the fourth consecutive summer, becoming the first player in USA Baseball history to play for two 15U National Teams and two 18U National Teams. He is joined by his 2022 15U teammates Carson Bolemon and Andrew Costello, who helped Team USA win gold at the 2022 WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup. 2023 15U alum Jorvorskie Lane Jr. makes his second appearance on a U.S. roster, while two-time alum Jared Grindlinger rounds out the alumni on the roster.
In addition to the five alumni on the roster, 10 total players have experience participating in USA Baseball’s national team development programming. Emerson and Grindlinger were both members of the 2022 13U/14U Athlete Development Program (ADP), while Costello and Jacob Lombard both participated at the 2023 16U/17U National Team Development Program (NTDP). Bolemon, Coleman Borthwick, Will Brick, Lane Jr., Anthony Murphy, and Gio Rojas competed at the 2024 16U/17U NTDP, and Grindlinger played at the 2025 16U/17U NTDP in July.
Additionally, James Clark, Lombard, Murphy, and Aiden Ruiz all have experience across a myriad of MLB Develops programs and events. The quartet has participated in nearly all of MLB Develops’ offerings, including the Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series, Hank Aaron Invitational, High School All-American Game, High School Home Run Derby, and The Program-all of which are hosted jointly with USA Baseball.
FOLLOW ALONG
To follow along with all the action with the 18U National Team, be sure to follow @USABaseball18U on X and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.
