TAINAN, Taiwan – After suffering its first defeat to Korea in a 6-2 contest on the fourth day of pool play in the 2025 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup, Team USA takes on Dominican Republic at 1:30 p.m. local/1:30 a.m. ET.

After the fourth day of pool play, Korea has claimed sole possession of first place in the Group B standings. Meanwhile, the United States and the Dominican Republic are tied for second and Panama is in fourth place while Czechia and South Africa have yet to pick up a win.

In Group A, Mexico and Japan remain undefeated with three wins apiece. Mexico has thrown two no-hitters while allowing only one run as a team while Japan took down the home team, Chinese-Taipei, 7-2, on Sunday. Meanwhile, Chinese-Taipei is 3-1 while both Germany and Cuba are winless.

Team USA, along with four other teams in its pool, is competing for one of two berths in Group B to advance to the World Cup Super Round stage. All team records and Group B standings can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT

Team USA fell to Korea on the fourth day of WBSC U-12 World Cup pool play, 6-2, as defensive miscues and a three-run fourth inning proved costly. Jaxon Spray worked around early trouble in his first start, striking out four over 2.2 innings, but errors and a wild pitch in the third led to Korea’s first run. Christopher Chikodroff tied the game with a clutch two-out RBI single, but Korea struck again in the fourth and never looked back.

Despite the loss, Team USA showed resilience. Chikodroff made a diving catch to save a run, and relievers Brock Bliss, Jameson Wilhite, and Mason Bitzenhofer kept the game within reach. Offensively, Chikodroff finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs, Nolan Hatch went 1-for-2 with a run, and Kristian Valadez drew two walks. Bitzenhofer and Wilhite combined for 1.2 scoreless innings in relief.

More on yesterday’s game can be found here.

PITCHING MATCHUP

RHP Carlos Rodriguez (DOM) vs. LHP Jake Romero (USA)

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

The Dominican Republic is tied for second place with the United States in Group B, as both teams have lost to Korea. The D.R. is batting .414 as a team and has homered six times in four contests. In addition, they are averaging 13 runs per game and have allowed 19 runs to score.

At the plate, the team is led by Luis Manuel Parra and Jadiel Zayas, who are batting .538 and .600 respectively, while the duo has combined for 13 hits and 17 RBIs. Craifer Montero leads the team in innings pitched (4.0) and has collected eight strikeouts in two appearances.

HISTORY AGAINST DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

This will be the first meeting between these two teams since the 2024 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier gold-medal game this past October in Panama. In that contest just nine months ago, the United States erased a three-run deficit, scored 10 unanswered runs, and downed the Dominican Republic, 14-7 to secure a berth to the 2025 WBSC U-12 World Cup. Since the two teams first met in 2022, Team USA is 3-1 and outscored its Dominican counterparts 52-29.

TEAM USA STAT LEADERS

• HITS: Christopher Chikodroff (7)
• RBIs: Christopher Chikodroff (6)
• RUNS: Christopher Chikodroff (6)
• TB: Christopher Chikodroff, Hunter Sundby (9)
• BB: Kristian Valadez (4)
• IP: Brock Bliss (4.2)
• Ks: Brock Bliss, Davis Romejko (5)

GROUP B STANDINGS

Korea (3-0)

United States (3-0)

Dominican Republic (2-1)

Panama (1-2)

Czechia (0-3)

South Africa (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:

• July 31-August 3 - Super Round/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.