With the first games taking place at the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, fans saw tons of excitement and action throughout the day. Nicaragua was able to walk off South Africa in 10 innings, taking the 2-1 final, while Chinese Taipei struggled on the mound and would lose to Spain 12-5.
South Africa took the first lead of the game against Nicaragua in the fifth inning when Victor Ngoepe lined a single up the middle to drive in Brandon Bouillon to take a 1-0 lead. Dylan Unsworth was great on the mound, throwing four and a third scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out two batters. Justin Erasmus would relieve Unsworth, where he allowed one run in three and two-thirds innings, striking out one batter. South Africa also executed a hidden ball trick, as third baseman Anthony Phillips would tag out Freddy Zamora at third, keeping the game tied. The game would head to extra innings, when Ronald Rivera would drive in the winning run, hitting a walk-off single to right field to score Emanuel Trujillo.
NICARAGUA SURVIVES 🇳🇮
Extra innings walk-off to win a CRUCIAL opening game of qualifiers pic.twitter.com/7pc2duSE7E
— Shawn Spradling (@Shawn_Spradling) February 21, 2025
As for Chinese Taipei, they trailed the entirety of their matchup against Spain, which was certainly one of the night’s biggest upsets. Yu-Hung Chen was only able to pitch one inning after allowing three hits and two earned runs. Spain’s offense would explode in the fifth inning, with Yu-Cheng Wu allowing three hits and four earned runs without recording an out. Chinese Taipei picked up 11 hits on the night and scored five runs, and Yu Chang hit a home run.
Now, both teams face a challenge as they look to remain alive and fight for their spot in the 2026 World Baseball Classic in a “win or go home” scenario. Spain will face Nicaragua at the Taipei Dome at 11 PM EST, while Chinese Taipei will play South Africa at 6 AM EST.
Fans can watch the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers on Youtube, Facebook, and the World Baseball Classic website.
