MIAMI – Am Yisrael Chai.
Israel topped Nicaragua 5-0 behind a four-run fifth inning, improving to 1-2 in Pool D at the 2026 World Baseball Classic and likely avoiding having to qualify for the next WBC, while Nicaragua will likely be headed to the World Baseball Classic Qualifier.
With Major League veteran Dean Kremer on the mound, Israel held Nicaragua to just one hit over Kremer’s 4 1/3 innings and just two in the game, and Israel’s pitchers issued just two walks.
Cole Carrigg singled in the second, stole second and third, and scored on a single by Noah Mendlinger to give Israel a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, Israel sent nine batters to the plate, starting with Mendlinger, who led off with a single. A one-out single by Spencer Horwitz sent Mendlinger to third. Another single by Harrison Bader loaded the bases, and then a walk to R.J. Schreck setn Mendlinger home to make it 2-0. Yet another single by cleanup man Zach Levenson scored Horwitz and Bader to make it 4-0, and a two-out single by Carrigg scored Schreck with Israel’s final run of the game.
Facing Nicaragua, a team largely comprised of players from the country’s winter league, Israel didn’t have a lot of information to study.
“It’s a little bit more old school baseball when you don’t have as much information. We do have some information, but it’s certainly not like a major league roster where you have tons of data to sift through. It’s like high school baseball in terms of preparation,” Israel manager Brad Ausmus said before the game. “And you’ve got to communicate as players. For pitchers that we don’t know or pitchers we haven’t seen or pitchers we have no information on, guys in the lineup, they’ve got to talk to each other after they see an at-bat and pass it down the line.”
They must have passed the message along.
After Kremer left the game, Josh Malletz threw 1 2/3 no-hit innings, allowing a walk to Omar Mendoza in the fifth, and from there on out, the Israel bullpen was perfect. Matt Bowman threw 1 1/3 innings, Max Lazr went 2/3 of an inning in the eighth, and former New York Yankee Tommy Kahnle finished out the win throwing a perfect ninth.
Israel will face the Dominican Republic on Monday at noon, with Ryan Prager starting against Brayan Bello for the Quisqueyanos. A win would keep a chance of Israel advancing to the quarterfinals alive, though they would need to win both their remaining games to advance. Nicaragua can’t advance to the quarterfinals, but could potentially
Photo: Cole Carrigg (8), Spencer Horwitz (13) and Harrison Bader, second from right, high-five after defeating Nicaragua in a World Baseball Classic game, Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
