TAINAN, Taiwan – The United States is set to face tournament host, Chinese Taipei, on the second day of 2025 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup Super Round play on Friday, August 1. Playing at the main stadium in the evening slate means primetime action, as first pitch will be thrown at 6:30 p.m. local/6:30 a.m. ET at Asia Pacific International Baseball Stadium.
Team USA, along with one other team in the Super Round pool, is competing for a berth to the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup title game. After the final day of Super Round play on August 2, the two teams with the best Super Round record will advance to the gold-medal game. All team records and Super Round standings can be found here.
LAST TIME OUT
The United States surged past Mexico, 7–1, on the opening day of the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup Super Round, scoring seven unanswered runs and allowing just three hits.
After falling behind early for the third straight game, Team USA responded with steady offense, plating runs in three different innings and improving to 5-1 overall (2-1 in Super Round play). Barret Schell settled in after giving up a first-inning homer, tossing 3.0 strong frames.
Russell McGee sparked the bats with the team’s first hit in the third, setting up a go-ahead rally. Kristian Valadez broke the game open in the fifth with a three-run blast, and Jack Carson added two insurance runs in the sixth.
More on Thursday’s game can be found here.
PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Bing-Rong Li (TPE) vs. RHP Jameson Wilhite (USA)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
In the opening round, Chinese Taipei concluded with a 4-1 record, as its lone loss came in a 7-2 loss to Japan. Meanwhile, the team is coming off a 9-4 win over the Dominican Republic on the first day of Super Round play.
Although the team has only hit two home runs, its offense cannot be overlooked, as the team has managed to score more than eight runs a game. As a team, Chinese Taipei is hitting .341 while only striking out 14 times over the past six contests. Its pitching staff owns a 2.73 ERA and holds opponents to a .250 batting average. They have surrendered only two long balls, however its arms have yielded 33 hits while the team is among the best in limiting defensive miscues, committing only five errors.
At the plate, Chinese Taipei is led by Qi-sheng Chen and Cheng-chun Hsieh, who are batting .563 and .545, respectively. Together, they have accounted for 15 hits, 13 RBIs, and only one strikeout in 27 at-bats. Meanwhile, three players have each drawn six or more walks. On the other side, Chinese Taipei’s starting pitcher, Bing-rong Li, has made two appearances on the bump and has tossed 2.2 innings with a 4.50 ERA. Although he has given up only two hits,Li is one of two pitchers on the team to have surrendered a home run.
HISTORY AGAINST CHINESE TAIPEI
The 12U National Team is 6-2 all-time against Chinese Taipei as this will be the thirteenth year these two teams face off. Not only did the U.S. win the first contest in an 8-1 game in 2013, but Team USA is on a three-game win streak against Chinese Taipei dating back to 2017.
The last meeting between these two teams was in the 2023 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup gold-medal game, where Team USA downed Chinese Taipei, 10-4, to win its fifth World Cup title. Since the two teams first met in 2013, Team USA has outscored Chinese Taipei 59-45 while seven of the eight prior contests were decided by five or more runs.
TEAM USA STAT LEADERS
- BA: Christopher Chikodroff (.526)
- HITS: Christopher Chikodroff (10)
- RBIs: Kristian Valadez (11)
- RUNS: Nolan Hatch (9)
- TB: Kristian Valadez (15)
- BB: Kristian Valadez (6)
- IP: Barret Schell (7.0)
- Ks: Duncan Mount (9)
SUPER ROUND STANDINGS
Japan (2-1)
Korea (2-1)
Chinese-Taipei (2-1)
United States (2-1)
Mexico (1-2)
Dominican Republic (0-3)
INSIDE THE ROSTER
The 18-player roster features 12 athletes who were invited to Training Camp following the 11U Futures Invitational, while the remaining six were previously selected from last summer’s 11U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup. Overall, 11 states are represented among the 18 players on this year’s roster. Texas leads all states with three athletes, while Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, and Virginia are each represented by two players apiece. California, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington are responsible for the remaining seven athletes. The 2025 12U National Team roster can be found here.
AT THE HELM
Team USA is led by two-time 12U National Team Manager Bryan Madsen – who helped secure a gold medal and a World Cup qualification last October in Panama. Alongside Madsen is a veteran group of coaches, including Wes Brooks, Erick Quesada, and Roger Wright. Brooks serves as pitching coach for the second consecutive summer while Quesada and Wright will take on assistant coaching roles. Madsen and Quesada make their second appearance on a World Cup roster, having previously served on staff of the gold medal-winning 2023 12U National Team. Likewise, this will be the second consecutive summer that Brooks and Wright suit up in a Team USA uniform.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can watch the game here and also follow live stats, while highlights and updates can be found on the 12U National Team Twitter/X account.
SCHEDULE
The remaining schedule for the VIII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup is as follows:
- August 2 - at Japan (Super Round) - 2:30 p.m. local/2:30 a.m. ET
- August 3 - Medal Round - TBD
SOCIAL MEDIA
To follow along with all the action with the 12U National Team, be sure to follow @USABaseball12U on Twitter/X and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X.
