Only two teams will get the opportunity to participate in the World Baseball Classic event that will start in March when the Regensburg Qualifier concludes in Germany’s Armin-Wolf-Arena. The six countries competing in Pool A Qualifier are South Africa, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, and France. The World Baseball Classic YouTube and Facebook accounts, as well as WorldBaseballClassic.com and MLB.TV, will all make all qualifying games available to fans worldwide.
If the opening game of the qualifying stage is any indication, the World Baseball Classic will be pretty exciting. At the Armin-Wolf-Arena in Regensburg, Germany, Spain defeated South Africa 5-4 to kick off the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Spain’s offense was paced by 23-year-old outfielder Justin Connell, a member of the Nationals’ farm system, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. He received a fastball from South African right-hander Justin Erasmus in the bottom of the fourth and smashed it well past the left-field wall to start the scoring. In the eighth inning, he added an RBI double.
Victor Ngoepe’s RBI groundout and Jonathan Phillips’ run-scoring single helped South Africa, the lowest-ranked team competing in the Regensburg Qualifier, overturn a 2-0 hole in the top of the seventh inning. Three runs from Spain were swiftly answered at the bottom of the period. In the ninth inning, Rhiner Cruz, a former reliever for the Astros and Blue Jays, bent but did not break. Cruz earned the save after retiring the following two hitters on an infield popout and a strikeout following Tyler Smith’s two-run double.
The six-team Regensburg Qualifier will see Spain take against the Czech Republic at 7 a.m. ET on Saturday to continue its progress. In the meanwhile, South Africa will face either Great Britain, France, or Germany in the double-elimination tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m., depending on the outcomes of the previous games on Friday and Saturday.
READ MORE: France vs Great Britain World Baseball Classic Qualifiers preview
Czech Republic | Spain |
Baroch Petr | Daniel Alvarez |
Blažek Jan | Rogelio Armenteros |
Bokaj Boris | Fernando Baez |
Budský Pavel | Omar Hernandez |
Černík Jakub | Oscar Angulo |
Červinka Tomáš | Noelvi Marte |
Drábek Jan | Jesus Ustariz |
Drong Martin | Lesther Galvan |
Gál Jiří | Daniel Jimenez |
The match between the Czech Republic vs Spain will take place in Armin-Wolf-Arena (Regensburg) on Friday, September 17 at 1:00 PM CEST / 7 AM ET / 4:30 PM IST.
Czech Republic vs Spain matchup from the WBC Qualifier in Regensburg will be live streamed on a number of European TV channels, MLB.com, and MLB’s Facebook page.