The Singapore U-12 Mixed Softball Team started their maiden World Cup journey on 7 December 2022. Along the way, there was the joy of winning our first international match, the sobering loss against the tournament favourites, high drama and nail-biting matches.
So maybe it was a fitting end that the final World Cup match for this team was at high stakes, winner-takes-all bronze medal match against Hong Kong. And what a final match it was! The team took an early lead in the top of the first inning with a solo inside-the-park homerun, only to be immediately pegged back. The boys and girls then rallied to retake the lead and surge further ahead. Our ace pitcher, Keona Lai, sat down the Hong Kong offense for the next few innings. Perhaps due to a lack of experience, our team couldn’t hold onto the lead and our opponents levelled the scores in the bottom of the fourth. A nail-biting fifth ensued where neither team scored. Our team struck first in the tie-breaker, scoring 3 runs before heading to the bottom of the inning. Hong Kong struck back immediately with 2 runs. With bases loaded, the pressure was on our ace and defense to hold. Then a wild pitch and there was pandemonium; the runner at third broke for home, our catcher scrambling for the loose ball, the runner slid and our catcher reached down to apply the tag. When the dust settled, the umpire pumped his fist for the out and our team poured onto the field with joy. That call meant that Team Singapore was the bronze medalist at the WBSC U-12 Mixed Softball World Cup! The team would like to thank all our supporters and sponsors for making this journey possible. Hopefully this will just be the start of a successful chapter for Singapore youth softball. Go Team Singapore!