TUCSON, Ariz. – On a 62 degree night with the sun setting behind the North Catalina Mountains at the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers at the Kino Sports Complex at Veterans Memorial Stadium and 2,137 fans in attendance, Colombia qualified for the 2026 WBC with their 10-0 mercy rule win in seven innings over Germany, with left fielder Jose Ramos hitting a game winning single in the bottom of the seventh to send the nation into field for next March.
Jose Ramos sends Team Colombia to the 2026 #WorldBaseballClassic with a walk-off single! 🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/seU2dyBSMf
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 5, 2025
The time of the game was two hours and seven minutes.
Germany will play on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST at Veterans Memorial Stadium against Brazil with a win or take all to enter the field of the 2026 WBC.
Colombia will play in their third consecutive WBC in their nations’ history once they take the field on March 6 during the 2026 event.
Ready, Set, Pose.
The celebration for Team Colombia is just getting started! #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/zbaU1R6ENk
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 5, 2025
Germany was 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base in Tuesday’s loss.
Colombia’s pitching staff under Jose Mosquera, with starter Adrian Almeida, and reliever’s Luis Escobar, Danis Correa, Yapson Gomez, and Ezequiel Zabaleta fired seven innings, allowing four hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts.
“The main focus for our pitching staff was getting ahead, working the count and putting hitters away with the best secondary pitches. Jair Camargo did a great job with game planning prior and the execution of the pitch calling were right on point,” Almeida said during the postgame.
Colombia’s Five-Run First Inning
Colombia wasted no time jumping ahead in the bottom of the first. Michael Arroyo was hit by a pitch to start the inning and swiped second base.
Harold Ramirez followed with a single up the middle, bringing in Arroyo to give Colombia a 1-0 lead.
Harold Ramírez gets Team Colombia on the board first. #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/AofWWHQZCJ
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 5, 2025
“Ramirez with anything he can do in his adjustments on how he struggled with the strike zone a little bit prior to setting the plan with him to give a couple at-bats, so we executed everything that we planned and for him were excited with how he did his job during the qualifiers,” Mosquera said during the post game.
With one out, Gio Urshela reached on a throwing error by Germany shortstop Alexander Schmidt, allowing Ramirez to race home from second and stretch the lead to 2-0.
Germany’s defense struggled to settle in. A wild pitch by Mark Harrison sent Urshela to second before Harrison hit Jair Camargo, putting two on.
Dilson Herrera then rolled one to short, but Schmidt bobbled the ball, allowing Urshela to sprint home as Colombia pushed its lead to 3-0.
Germany manager Jendrick Speer had seen enough, turning to reliever Sven Schuller. Harrison recorded just one out, allowing two hits and two earned runs on 20 pitches.
Schuller induced a force play at second, but Camargo still came across, making it 4-0.
Jesus Marriaga delivered the biggest blow of the inning, hammering a triple into the right-center gap to bring in Brayan Buelvas and jolt ahead 5-0.
Colombia kept the run party going in the bottom of the third. Brayan Buelvas lined a run-scoring single to left, bringing in Jair Camargo to push the lead to a touchdown at 6-0.
Marriaga continued to stay locked in, sending a sharp grounder up the middle, scoring Dilson Herrera to make it 7-0.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Herrera cracked an RBI single to center field, scoring Guillermo Quintana to staple an 8-0 lead.
“The preparation was good coming into the tournament and the third game we came in and did what we had to do and that’s what matters heading into next year for the WBC,” Herrera said during the postgame.
Buelvas carried his team the rest of the way during the WBCQ and smashed a ground ball RBI single to center field, scoring Carlos Martinez to nob a 9-0 lead.
Team Colombia continues to cruise.
Brayan Buelvas pushes their lead to 9-0 heading to the 5th. #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/R1NNAbm8ed
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 5, 2025
In the bottom of the seventh, with Germany’s infield drawn in, Ramos lined an 88.7 mph fastball into left, scoring Marriaga as Colombia stormed the field to celebrate a 10-0 mercy-rule victory and its third straight WBC berth.
Germany’s pitching staff threw six innings, allowing 15 hits, seven earned runs, two walks, and six strikeouts during Tuesday’s loss.
Several Colombia players spent the winter playing in the 2024-25 Liga Profesional de Beisbol Colombia season and the 2025 Serie de Las Americas in Nicaragua with the champion Caimanes de Barranquilla. Marriaga, Herrera, Quintana, Jean Herrera, and Fabian Pertuz were among the key contributors at the event who played a role in helping Colombia qualify for the WBC.
“They came ready with playing in the winter league season, and it was a good result for us that the players that played during the month span to go out with that performance here at the qualifiers,” Urshela said postgame.
Colombia’s arms did not allow an earned run in the entire 2025 WBCQ. Entering Tuesday’s game, they had thrown 18 innings, allowing six hits, one hit batter, three walks, and six strikeouts.
Colombia and Germany in WBC History
Colombia entered the 2025 WBC Qualifiers ranked No. 13 in the World Baseball Rankings, published by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Brazil is ranked No. 23, China No. 20, and Germany No. 17. Nicaragua sits at No. 16, while Chinese Taipei holds the No. 2 spot. Both have already qualified for the 2026 WBC.
Colombia won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games, defeating Brazil 9-1 in Santiago, Chile. The nation has also secured three gold medals in senior international competition, winning the Baseball World Cup in 1947 and 1965 and the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1946.
At the 2023 WBC, Colombia finished 1-4 in Pool C, earning its only win against Mexico before being eliminated after a 7-5 loss to Great Britain. The team also played in the 2017 WBC, defeating Canada but falling to the United States and the Dominican Republic. Colombia swept the 2016 WBC Qualifier to earn a spot in 2017 but failed to qualify in 2013.
For a full breakdown of Colombia’s WBC history, visit World Baseball Network’s coverage of Colombia vs. Brazil in the 2025 WBCQ.
Germany has never qualified for the WBC but has competed in the last three qualifiers in 2022, 2016, and 2012. The team defeated South Africa in 2022 before being eliminated by Great Britain and the Czech Republic. Germany also failed to qualify in 2016 and 2012, losing to teams such as Nicaragua, Canada, and the Czech Republic.
Germany has never won a senior international gold medal but earned silver at the 1957 European Championship and seven bronze medals, most recently in 2010. In 2023, Germany narrowly missed a podium finish, losing 5-4 to the Netherlands in the 10th inning on a walk-off home run in the European Championship in Brno, Czech Republic.
For more on Germany’s WBC qualifiers history and roster updates, visit World Baseball Network’s coverage and Germany’s performance in the 2025 WBCQ.
All WBC Qualifier games will stream live on the World Baseball Classic website, as well as on its Facebook page, MLB.TV, and YouTube channel, with coverage running through the final out of the second qualifier in Tucson, Ariz., on March 6.
2026 World Baseball Classic Information
The United States, Italy, Mexico, Great Britain and a Qualifier nation will compete at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas from March 6-11 in Pool B.
Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, and a Qualifier nation will compete in San Juan, Puerto Rico at Hiram Bithorn Stadium from March 6-11 in Pool A.
Japan, Australia, South Korea, Czech Republic, and a Qualifier nation will compete at the Tokyo Dome from March 5-10 in Pool C.
Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Israel, and a Qualifier nation will compete at loanDepot Park in Miami in Pool D from March 6-11.
The Quarterfinals of the 2026 WBC will feature the Pool A runner-up facing the Pool B winner on March 13, while the Pool B runner-up will face the Pool A winner on March 14 at Daikin Park.
The other side of the Quarterfinals will be on March 13 with the Pool C runner-up playing the Pool D winner and the Pool D runner-up will play the Pool C winner on March 14 at loanDepot Park.
The 2026 WBC semifinals will be held on March 15 and 16 at loanDepot Park, with the championship game taking place on March 17.
2025 WBC Qualifiers Schedule – Veterans Memorial Stadium
All Game Start Times Are Listed Eastern Standard Time
March 6, 2025 – Qualifier Game
Brazil vs. Germany – 8 p.m. EST
Photo: Colombia celebrates after a 10-0 mercy-rule victory over Germany to secure a spot in the 2026 World Baseball Classic at the WBC Qualifiers in Tucson on March 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy of WBSC/Facebook)
