Team USA has gone 4-1 in the first round of the Women’s Baseball World Cup, but their one defeat came at the hands of Chinese Taipei. Now, Chinese Taipei is set to play their final game of the first round of the tournament against the winless Netherlands. Should the Netherlands lose once again, USA will finish in second in Group A, with Chinese Taipei the group’s winner.
Team USA can win their World Cup group and advance with a Chinese Taipei loss
USA will advance either way, but winning Group A would help their quest to advance even further.
While Team USA would still advance to the second round — the super round — of the World Cup, they would begin that stage of play with one loss on their record, giving Chinese Taipei an advantage. The third-place team would be determined by the winner of Monday’s other game, Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela, should Chinese Taipei succeed in defeating the Netherlands.
Right now, Puerto Rico is in second in Group A, but they lost to USA, so they can’t finish first in Group A even if they win against fourth-place Venezuela on Monday. Basically, all we know about Group A heading into these games is that USA will advance one way or another, and that South Korea and the Netherlands are eliminated.
Things are clearer in Group B, where undefeated Japan won Group B, followed by 4-1 Canada, and, thanks to their win against Australia, the Dominican Republic also moves on to the super round despite a 2-3 record. The super round will feature Japan, Canada, and the Dominican Republic facing off the Group A teams that advance, and then the four best records from the entire tournament will move on to the finals.
That last bit is why Team USA advancing as the Group A winner matters: their record entering their three super round games would be 4-1 instead of 4-2, and that one extra loss might make all the difference when it comes to a finals bid.
Both Chinese Taipei vs. Netherlands and Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela will be played at 11 a.m. ET on Monday, and can be streamed through USSSA’s website.
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