# 2018 Women's Softball World Championship

The 2018 Women's Softball World Championship was an international softball competition held in Chiba, Japan, from 2 August to 12 August. It was the 16th edition of the tournament, and the third edition to be sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Previous editions were sanctioned by the International Softball Federation, which governed the sport until its 2013 merger with the International Baseball Federation to create the WBSC. As the winners, the United States earned the right to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was the last world title awarded under the championship format before the WBSC implemented the new world cup 4 year cycle.

## Qualification

| Origin | Berths | Qualified |
| Host nation | 1 | Japan |
| Oceania | 2 | Australia, New Zealand |
| Europe | 3 | Netherlands, Italy, Great Britain |
| Americas | 5 | Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States, Venezuela |
| Asia | 3 | Philippines, Chinese Taipei, China |
| Africa | 2 | Botswana, South Africa |

## Venues

| Narashino | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | Narita |
| Akitsu Baseball Field | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | NASPA Stadium |
| Playoff Round | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | |
| Chiba | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | Ichihara |
| Zozo Marine Stadium | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | NaritaNarashinoChibaIchihara | Zett. A. Ball Park |

## Competition format

The teams are separated into two groups of eight teams each for the preliminary round. Each group plays a single round robin. The top four teams in each group advance to the championship round, while the bottom four teams play in placement games. The championship round is played in a double Page round.
* Preliminary Page (two sections)
** Minor semifinals: Third- and fourth-place teams play (A3 vs. B4, B3 vs. A4). Winners advance to Preliminary Page final, losers eliminated.
** Major semifinals: First- and second-place teams play (A1 vs. B2, B1 vs. A2). Winners advance to Championship Page major semifinal, losers play in the Preliminary Page final.
** Finals: The minor semifinal winners and major semifinal losers play. Winners advance to the Championship Page minor semifinal, losers eliminated.
* Championship Page
** Minor semifinal: Winners of each Preliminary Page final play. Winner advances to Championship Page final, losers eliminated.
** Major semifinal: Winners of each Preliminary Page major semifinal play. Winner advances to Championship Page grand final, losers play in the Championship Page final.
** Final: The minor semifinal winners and major semifinal losers play. Winner advances to Championship Page grand final, loser finishes in third place.
** Grand final: The major semifinal winner and final winner play. Winner is the champion, loser is second place.
The games were played with the 15/10/7 run ahead mercy rule where a game was called if one team leads the other by 15 runs or more after 3 innings, 10 runs or more after 4 innings, or 7 runs or more after 5 innings have been played.

## Group stage
### Group A
#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | — | Qualification to Playoff Round |
| 2 | Puerto Rico | 7 | 6 | 1 | .857 | 1 | Qualification to Playoff Round |
| 3 | Mexico | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 2 | Qualification to Playoff Round |
| 4 | Netherlands | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4 | Qualification to Playoff Round |
| 5 | Chinese Taipei | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4 | Advance to Placement Round |
| 6 | New Zealand | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 5 | Advance to Placement Round |
| 7 | Philippines | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 5 | Advance to Placement Round |
| 8 | South Africa | 7 | 0 | 7 | .000 | 7 | Advance to Placement Round |
* 1 2 Netherlands won against Chinese Taipei 6-5
* 1 2 New Zealand won against Philippines 2-0

#### Games

| Date | Home | Score | Away |
| 3 August 2018 | South Africa | 0–21 (4) | Chinese Taipei |
| 3 August 2018 | United States | 5–2 | Mexico |
| 3 August 2018 | Puerto Rico | 6–5 | Netherlands |
| 3 August 2018 | Philippines | 10–0 (4) | South Africa |
| 3 August 2018 | New Zealand | 4–7 | Chinese Taipei |
| 4 August 2018 | Puerto Rico | 9–0 (5) | South Africa |
| 4 August 2018 | Philippines | 0–2 | Mexico |
| 4 August 2018 | Chinese Taipei | 0–7 (5) | United States |
| 4 August 2018 | New Zealand | 5–10 | Netherlands |
| 4 August 2018 | Puerto Rico | 3–0 | Philippines |
| 5 August 2018 | Netherlands | 0–11 (4) | United States |
| 5 August 2018 | Chinese Taipei | 11–12 | Puerto Rico |
| 5 August 2018 | Netherlands | 4–5 | Philippines |
| 5 August 2018 | Mexico | 8–0 (5) | South Africa |
| 5 August 2018 | United States | 7–0 (5) | New Zealand |
| 6 August 2018 | Puerto Rico | 9–0 (6) | Mexico |
| 6 August 2018 | South Africa | 0–6 | New Zealand |
| 6 August 2018 | Netherlands | 6–5 | Chinese Taipei |
| 6 August 2018 | Philippines | 0–12 (4) | United States |
| 7 August 2018 | Puerto Rico | 4–1 | New Zealand |
| 7 August 2018 | Chinese Taipei | 9–7 | Philippines |
| 7 August 2018 | Mexico | 1–0 | Netherlands |
| 7 August 2018 | United States | 7–0 (5) | South Africa |
| 7 August 2018 | Mexico | 1–0 | New Zealand |
| 8 August 2018 | United States | 8–1 (5) | Puerto Rico |
| 8 August 2018 | Chinese Taipei | 3–4 | Mexico |
| 9 August 2018 | South Africa | 1–11 (5) | Netherlands |
| 9 August 2018 | New Zealand | 2–0 | Philippines |

### Group B
#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Japan | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | — | Qualification to Playoff Round |
| 2 | Australia | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 2 | Qualification to Playoff Round |
| 3 | Canada | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 2 | Qualification to Playoff Round |
| 4 | Italy | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | 3 | Qualification to Playoff Round |
| 5 | China | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | 3 | Advance to Placement Round |
| 6 | Great Britain | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 5 | Advance to Placement Round |
| 7 | Venezuela | 7 | 1 | 6 | .143 | 6 | Advance to Placement Round |
| 8 | Botswana | 7 | 0 | 7 | .000 | 7 | Advance to Placement Round |
* 1 2 Australia won against Canada 2-0
* 1 2 Italy won against China 7-0 in 5 innings

#### Games

| Date | Home | Score | Away |
| 2 August 2018 | Japan | 9–0 (6) | Italy |
| 3 August 2018 | Australia | 7–1 | Venezuela |
| 3 August 2018 | Canada | 7–0 (5) | Great Britain |
| 3 August 2018 | Australia | 0–1 | China |
| 3 August 2018 | Venezuela | 0–7 (6) | Canada |
| 3 August 2018 | Japan | 20–0 (3) | Botswana |
| 4 August 2018 | Italy | 2–3 | Australia |
| 4 August 2018 | China | 1–0 | Great Britain |
| 4 August 2018 | Botswana | 0–8 | Venezuela |
| 4 August 2018 | Canada | 1–0 | Italy |
| 4 August 2018 | Japan | 5–0 | China |
| 5 August 2018 | Italy | 8–0 (5) | Botswana |
| 5 August 2018 | Australia | 2–0 | Canada |
| 5 August 2018 | Venezuela | 0–6 | China |
| 5 August 2018 | Great Britain | 0–6 | Japan |
| 6 August 2018 | Australia | 14–0 (4) | Botswana |
| 6 August 2018 | China | 0–7 (6) | Canada |
| 6 August 2018 | Italy | 1–0 | Great Britain |
| 6 August 2018 | Japan | 7–2 | Venezuela |
| 7 August 2018 | Botswana | 0–10 (4) | Great Britain |
| 7 August 2018 | China | 15–1 (4) | Botswana |
| 7 August 2018 | Venezuela | 1–3 | Italy |
| 7 August 2018 | Great Britain | 0–11 (5) | Australia |
| 7 August 2018 | Canada | 0–2 | Japan |
| 8 August 2018 | Canada | 22–0 (3) | Botswana |
| 8 August 2018 | Italy | 7–0 (5) | China |
| 9 August 2018 | Great Britain | 5–2 | Venezuela |
| 9 August 2018 | Japan | 9–1 (6) | Australia |

## Placement round

| 13th-16th Placement | 13th-16th Placement | 11th-12th Placement | 11th-12th Placement | | 9th Place | 9th Place |
| P1 | P1 | | | |
| A5 Chinese Taipei | 8$^{(6)}$ | | | |
| A5 Chinese Taipei | 8$^{(6)}$ | P5 | P5 | | |
| B8 Botswana | 1 | P5 | P5 | |
| B8 Botswana | 1 | Chinese Taipei | 13 | |
| P4 | P4 | | Chinese Taipei | 13 | |
| P4 | P4 | Great Britain | 11 | |
| B6 Great Britain | 2 | Great Britain | 11 | |
| B6 Great Britain | 2 | | | | P7 | P7 |
| A7 Philippines | 1 | | | | P7 | P7 |
| A7 Philippines | 1 | | | | Chinese Taipei | 6 |
| P2 | P2 | | | | | Chinese Taipei | 6 |
| P2 | P2 | | | | China | 4 |
| B5 China | 3 | | | | China | 4 |
| B5 China | 3 | P6 | P6 | | | |
| A8 South Africa | 0 | P6 | P6 | | | |
| A8 South Africa | 0 | China | 8 | | | |
| P3 | P3 | | China | 8 | | | |
| P3 | P3 | Venezuela | 2 | |
| A6 New Zealand | 0 | Venezuela | 2 | |
| B7 Venezuela | 4 | | | |

### 13th-16th Placement

P1: 10 August 10:00 at NASPA Stadium, Narita :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
| Botswana | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Chinese Taipei | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 1 |
| WP: Chia-Chen Tsai (1-1) LP: Oreabetse Mojeremane (0-5) Home runs: BOT: None TPE: Szu-Shih Li Attendance: 20 Boxscore ||||||||||
P3: 10 August 14:00 at NASPA Stadium, Narita :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Venezuela | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| WP: Michelle Floyd (2-2) LP: Taylor Stewart (0-2) Attendance: 44 Boxscore |||||||||||
P2: 10 August 10:00 at Zett. A. Ball Park, Ichihara :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| South Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| China | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| WP: Xinxing Zhao (3-2) LP: Nushka De Beer (0-1) Sv: Yinan Chai (1) Home runs: RSA: None CHN: None Attendance: 73 Boxscore |||||||||||
P4: 10 August 14:00 at Zett. A. Ball Park, Ichihara :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Philippines | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| WP: Georgina Corrick (2-2) LP: Riflayca Basa (0-3) Attendance: 81 Boxscore |||||||||||

### 11th-12th Placement

P5: 11 August 10:00 at Akitsu Baseball Field, Narashino :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Chinese Taipei | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 17 | 1 |
| Great Britain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 17 | 3 |
| WP: Ya-Ting Tu (1-2) LP: Elizabeth Fleming (0-3) Home runs: TPE: Feng-Chen Lin GBR: Kristen Mack Attendance: 114 Boxscore |||||||||||
P6: 11 August 12:30 at Akitsu Baseball Field, Narashino :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Venezuela | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| China | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 11 | 1 |
| WP: Lan Wang (3-1) LP: Alondr Perez-Marquez Home runs: VEN: None CHN: Ying Lu Attendance: 73 Boxscore |||||||||||

### 9th place

P7: 11 August 16:30 at Akitsu Baseball Field, Narashino :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Chinese Taipei | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| China | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| WP: An-Ju Chiu (3-0) LP: Xinxing Zhao (3-3) Sv: Su-Hua Lin (2) Attendance: 56 Boxscore |||||||||||

## Playoff round

| | | | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | | | | World Championship Final | World Championship Final | World Championship Final |
| | | | C3 | C3 | C3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | A1 | United States | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | B2 | Australia | 1 | C8 | C8 | C8 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | W3 | United States | 4$^{(8)}$ | | | | | | |
| | | | C4 | C4 | C4 | W4 | Japan | 3 | | | | | | |
| | | | B1 | Japan | 7$^{(6)}$ | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | A2 | Puerto Rico | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | A2 | Puerto Rico | 0 | | | | | | | C10 | C10 | C10 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W8 | United States | 7$^{(10)}$ |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W9 | Japan | 6 |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 3 | Lower round 3 | Lower round 3 | Lower final | Lower final | Lower final | W9 | Japan | 6 |
| | | | C5 | C5 | C5 | | | | | | | | | |
| C1 | C1 | C1 | L3 | Australia | 2$^{(8)}$ | | | | C9 | C9 | C9 | | | |
| A3 | Mexico | 1$^{(9)}$ | W1 | Mexico | 1 | C7 | C7 | C7 | L8 | Japan | 3 | | | |
| B4 | Italy | 0 | | | | W5 | Australia | 0 | W7 | Canada | 0 | | | |
| | | | C6 | C6 | C6 | W6 | Canada | 12$^{(4)}$ | | | | | | |
| C2 | C2 | C2 | L4 | Puerto Rico | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| B3 | Canada | 8$^{(5)}$ | W2 | Canada | 10 | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Netherlands | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Preliminary Page System
#### Preliminary Semifinals

C1: 10 August 10:00 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| WP: Dalla Escobedo-Gosch (5-0) LP: Greta Cecchetti (3-4) Home runs: ITA: None MEX: None Attendance: 186 Boxscore |||||||||||||
C3: 10 August 15:30 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| WP: Monica Abbott (4-2) LP: Kaia Parnaby (4-2) Home runs: AUS: Stacey Porter USA: None Attendance: 350 Boxscore |||||||||||
C2: 10 August 12:30 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Canada | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| WP: Danielle Lawrie (3-0) LP: Eva Voortman (0-2) Home runs: NED: Soclaina Van Gurp CAN: Larissa Franklin (2) Attendance: 110 Boxscore |||||||||
C4: 10 August 19:00 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Japan | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| WP: Yukiko Ueno (5-0) LP: Giselle Juarez (1-1) Home runs: PUR: None JPN: Yu Yamamoto Attendance: 2005 Boxscore ||||||||||

#### Preliminary Finals

C5: 11 August 10:00 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| WP: Kaia Parnaby (5-2) LP: Dalla Escobedo-Gosch (5-1) Attendance: 193 Boxscore ||||||||||||
C6: 11 August 12:00 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Canada | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| WP: Danielle Caira (4-0) LP: Taran Alvelo (1-1) Home runs: CAN: Erika Polidori, Holly Speers, Kaleigh Rafter, Jennifer Gilbert PUR: Aleimalee Lopez Attendance: 992 Boxscore |||||||||||

### Championship Page System
#### Championship Semifinals

C7: 11 August 15:30 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | R | H | E |
| Canada | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 14 | 0 |
| Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| WP: Danielle Lawrie (5-0) LP: Kaia Parnaby (5-3) Home runs: CAN: Victoria Hayward, Erika Polidori, Jennifer Salling, Larissa Franklin AUS: None Attendance: 640 Boxscore ||||||||
C8: 11 August 19:00 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
| Japan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| United States | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| WP: 0 LP: Yamato Fujita (1-1) Home runs: JPN: Yu Yamamoto USA: Aubree Munro, Kelsey Stewart Attendance: 5922 Boxscore ||||||||||||

#### Bronze-medal game

C9: 12 August 14:00 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Canada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Japan | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| WP: Yukiko Ueno (6-0) LP: Danielle Lawrie (5-1) Home runs: CAN: None JPN: Saki Yamazaki Attendance: 7165 Boxscore |||||||||||

#### World Championship Final

C10: 12 August 19:00 at Zozo Marine Stadium, Chiba :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
| Japan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| United States | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| WP: Monica Cecili (5-0) LP: Yukiko Ueno (6-1) Home runs: JPN: Yamato Fujita (2) USA: Delaney Spaulding Attendance: 11,168 Boxscore ||||||||||||||

## Final standings

* Qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics
| Rank | Team |
| | United States |
| | Japan |
| | Canada |
| 4 | Australia |
| 5 | Puerto Rico |
| 6 | Mexico |
| 7 | Italy |
| 8 | Netherlands |
| 9 | Chinese Taipei |
| 10 | China |
| 11 | Great Britain |
| 12 | Venezuela |
| 13 | New Zealand |
| 14 | Philippines |
| 15 | South Africa |
| 16 | Botswana |