Draft:2026 World Baseball Classic qualification - Pool A

{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=WL|for_against_style=runs|ranking_style=perc|show_GB=true|use_goal_diff=false

|matches_text=game(s)

|team_order= NCA, ESP, TPE, RSA

|result1=Q |result2=G7 |result3=G7

|update=February 21, 2025

|win_TPE=1 |loss_TPE=1 |pf_TPE=14 |pa_TPE=13|status_TPE=H

|win_NCA=2 |loss_NCA=0 |pf_NCA=4 |pa_NCA=2

|win_RSA=0 |loss_RSA=2 |pf_RSA=2 |pa_RSA=11

|win_ESP=1 |loss_ESP=1 |pf_ESP=13|pa_ESP=7

|name_TPE={{bb|TPE}}

|name_NCA={{bb|NCA}}

|name_RSA={{bb|RSA}}

|name_ESP={{bb|ESP}}

|res_col_header=Q

|col_Q=green1|text_Q=Final tournament

|col_G7=blue1|text_G7=Second-place playoff

|source=MLB{{cite web | url=https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/qualifiers | title=World Baseball Classic Qualifiers | website=MLB.com }}

}}

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|February 25, 2025|19:00|Opening round 3rd place|–|Opening round 2nd place||Taipei Dome|||}}

|}

{{linescore

| Date = {{date|February 21, 2025|MDY}}

| Time = 12:00 PM TWT

| Location = Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan

| Other = (F/10)

| Road = {{bb|South Africa}} | RoadAbr = RSA

| R1 = 0 | R2 = 0 | R3 = 0 | R4 = 0 | R5 = 1 | R6 = 0 | R7 = 0 | R8 = 0 | R9 = 0 | R10 = 0| RR = 1 | RH = 4 | RE = 0

| Home = {{bb|Nicaragua}} | HomeAbr = NIC

| H1 = 0 | H2 = 0 | H3 = 0 | H4 = 0 | H5 = 0 | H6 = 0 | H7 = 1 | H8 = 0 | H9 = 0| H10 = 1 | HR = 2 | HH = 6 | HE = 0

| WP =Bryan Torres (1–0) | LP = Dean Jacobs (0–1)

| HomeHR = | RoadHR =

| Attendance =

| Umpires = HP – Evin Johnson, 1B – Scott Costello, 2B – Ik Soo Kim, 3B – Yoshiharu Yamaguchi

| Notes =

| BoxURL = https://www.mlb.com/gameday/south-africa-vs-nicaragua/2025/02/20/790394/final/box

}}

Nicaragua defeated South Africa 2-1 in extra innings on a walkoff single from catcher Ronald Rivera.{{cite web|title=Scores and results from the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Taipei|website=MLB.com |url=https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/news/taipei-world-baseball-classic-qualifiers-2025-scores|access-date= 21 February 2025}} In the 7th inning, South Africa successfully pulled off a hidden ball trick, tagging out Freddy Zamora at third base to keep the game tied.{{cite web|title=South Africa pulls off hidden ball trick for out, Nicaragua wins WBC Qualifiers opener|url=https://apnews.com/article/wbc-hidden-ball-south-africa-nicaragua-7619906b6a5f6e457ad5e94cfcd4be8a#|website= Associated Press|access-date= 21 February 2025}}

{{linescore

| Date = {{date|February 21, 2025|MDY}}

| Time = 7:00 PM TWT

| Location = Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan

| Other =

| Road = {{bb|Spain}}| RoadAbr = ESP

| R1 = 2 | R2 = 0 | R3 = 2 | R4 = 0 | R5 = 6 | R6 = 2 | R7 = 0 | R8 = 0 | R9 = 0 | RR = 12 | RH = 15 | RE = 1

| Home = {{bb|Chinese Taipei}} | HomeAbr = TPE

| H1 = 0 | H2 = 0 | H3 = 2 | H4 = 0 | H5 = 0 | H6 = 0 | H7 = 1 | H8 = 0 | H9 = 2| HR = 5 | HH = 11 | HE = 0

| WP =Elian Leyva (1–0) | LP = Yu-Hung Chen (0–1)

| HomeHR = Yu Chang (1) | RoadHR = Gabriel Lino (1)

| Attendance = 35,325 (88.8%)

| Umpires = HP – Ty Krauss, 1B – Yoshiharu Yamaguchi, 2B – Ben Phillips, 3B – Scott Costello

| Notes =

| BoxURL = https://www.mlb.com/gameday/spain-vs-chinese-taipei/2025/02/21/790395/final/box

}}

Spain defeated Chinese Taipei 12-5 in a shocking upset over the host country. Chinese Taipei were nearly subject to a 10-run mercy rule in the 7th inning, before scoring a run.{{cite web|title= Taiwan escapes mercy-rule loss to Spain in WBCQ opener|url=https://focustaiwan.tw/sports/202502210021|publisher=Taipei Times|access-date=21 February 2025}} Catcher Gabriel Lino said this about the shocking win: "It was really exciting to play here, in front of 40,000 people and to win against a team like Chinese Taipei [...] The best part is that we were focused and working on our goal from the start until the end, and I feel like this was a really important game for all of us. Hitting a home run was amazing too, but, for me, the win was the most important part of the night."{{cite web|title=Scores and results from the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Taipei|website=MLB.com |url=https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/news/taipei-world-baseball-classic-qualifiers-2025-scores|access-date=21 February 2025}}

{{linescore

| Date = {{date|February 22, 2025|MDY}}

| Time = 12:00 PM TWT

| Location = Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan

| Other = (F/10)

| Road = {{bb|Spain}} | RoadAbr = ESP

| R1 = 0 | R2 = 0| R3 = 1 | R4 = 0 | R5 = 0 | R6 = 0 | R7 = 0 | R8 = 0| R9 = 0|R10 = 0| RR = 1 | RH = 6 | RE = 1

| Home = {{bb|Nicaragua}} | HomeAbr = NIC

| H1 = 1| H2 = 0 | H3 = 0 | H4 = 0| H5 = 0 | H6 = 0| H7 = 0 | H8 = 0| H9 = 0 |H10 = 1| HR = 2 | HH = 7 | HE = 0

| WP = Yéris Gonzalez (1-0) | LP = Rhiner Cruz (0-1)

| HomeHR = Brandon Leyton (1)| RoadHR = Carlos Colmenarez (1)

| Attendance =

| Umpires = HP - Ben Phillips, 1B - Evin Johnson, 2B - Ik Soo Kim, 3B - Mark Stewart Jr

| Notes =

| BoxURL =

}}

{{linescore

| Date = {{date|February 22, 2025|MDY}}

| Time = 7:00 PM TWT

| Location = Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan

| Other =

| Road = {{bb|Chinese Taipei}} | RoadAbr = TPE

| R1 = 0| R2 = 0 | R3 = 2 | R4 = 2 | R5 = 0 | R6 = 1 | R7 = 2 | R8 = 0 | R9 = 2 | RR = 9 | RH = 14 | RE = 0

| Home = {{bb|South Africa}} | HomeAbr = RSA

| H1 = 0 | H2 = 0 | H3 = 0 | H4 = 1| H5 = 0| H6 = 0 | H7 = 0| H8 = 0| H9 = 0| HR = 1 | HH = 6 | HE = 1

| WP = Tzu-Chen Sha (1-0)| LP = Damon King (0-1)

| HomeHR = | RoadHR = Cheng-Jui Sung (1), Tsung-Hsien Lee (1)

| Attendance = 35,868 (89.6%)

| Umpires = HP - Scott Costello, 1B - Ty Krauss, 2B - Mark Stewart Jr, 3B - Ik Soo Kim

| Notes =

| BoxURL = https://www.mlb.com/gameday/chinese-taipei-vs-south-africa/2025/02/22/790392/final/box

}}

{{linescore

| Date = {{date|February 23, 2025|MDY}}

| Time = 12:00 PM TWT

| Location = Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan

| Other =

| Road = {{bb|South Africa}} | HomeAbr = RSA

| R1 = -| R2 = -| R3 = -| R4 = -| R5 = -| R6 = -| R7 = -| R8 = -| R9 = -| RR = - | RH = - | RE = -

| Home = {{bb|Spain}} | HomeAbr = ESP

| H1 = -| H2 = -| H3 = -| H4 = -| H5 = -| H6 = -| H7 = - | H8 = -| H9 = -| HR = - | HH = - | HE = -

| WP = | LP =

| HomeHR = | RoadHR =

| Attendance =

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| Notes =

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{{linescore

| Date = {{date|February 23, 2025|MDY}}

| Time = 7:00 PM TWT

| Location = Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan

| Other =

| Road = {{bb|South Africa}} | HomeAbr = RSA

| R1 = -| R2 = -| R3 = -| R4 = -| R5 = -| R6 = -| R7 = -| R8 = -| R9 = -| RR = - | RH = - | RE = -

| Home = {{bb|Spain}} | HomeAbr = ESP

| H1 = -| H2 = -| H3 = -| H4 = -| H5 = -| H6 = -| H7 = - | H8 = -| H9 = -| HR = - | HH = - | HE = -

| WP = | LP =

| HomeHR = | RoadHR =

| Attendance =

| Umpires =

| Notes =

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{{linescore

| Date = {{date|February 25, 2025|MDY}}

| Time = 7:00 PM TWT

| Location = Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan

| Other =

| Road = Opening round 3rd place team

| R1 = -| R2 = -| R3 = -| R4 = -| R5 = -| R6 = -| R7 = -| R8 = -| R9 = -| RR = - | RH = - | RE = -

| Home = Opening round 2nd place team

| H1 = -| H2 = -| H3 = -| H4 = -| H5 = -| H6 = -| H7 = - | H8 = -| H9 = -| HR = - | HH = - | HE = -

| WP = | LP =

| HomeHR = | RoadHR =

| Attendance =

| Umpires =

| Notes =

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