The Blogs: Game 2: Israel vs. Nicaragua

Who is Team Nicaragua?

Team Nicaragua entered the World Baseball Classic as an underdog with a roster construction somewhat similar to Team Israel’s, featuring only a small number of players with Major League Baseball experience, while most of the team came from minor leagues and international circuits. Nicaragua made its WBC debut in 2023 but has yet to win a game in the tournament.

The game

The scoring began in the bottom of the second inning when Israel broke through for the game’s first run. Following a single off Carlos Rodriguez and two stolen bases, Noah Mendlinger delivered an RBI single that brought home Cole Carrigg and gave Israel a 1–0 lead. The game was relatively quiet after that. Nicaragua recorded its first hit in the top of the third but couldn’t capitalize. The fifth inning is where things got interesting.

Dean Kremer started the inning with 45 pitches (the World Baseball Classic has a pitch cap of 65). The fifth was the first time he ran into trouble. Mark Vientos led off the inning with a single after a six-pitch at-bat. Omar Mendoza then walked following an eight-pitch plate appearance. After Kremer struck out Juan Montes, his pitch count reached 63. Managerial action followed, and Josh Mallitz came out of the bullpen. Mallitz, whose highest level played was AA (four games), appeared visibly nervous and opened with three balls. A questionable call on a 3-0 pitch made the count 3-1 against Freddy Zamora. Zamora swung and made contact, sending the ball down the line… but straight to Jake Gelof, who stepped on third and threw to first for an inning-ending double play.

That double play not only saved the inning but also completely shifted the momentum. Singles by Mendlinger and Spencer Horwitz put two runners on for Harrison Bader, who singled to extend Israel’s lead to 2–0. After RJ Schreck walked to load the bases, Nicaragua replaced Dilmer Mejía with J.C. Ramírez. Unfortunately for Nicaragua, Ramírez did not have the same luck as Mallitz and surrendered a two-run single to Zach Levenson. Carrigg followed with another single to drive in Schreck and extend the lead to 5–0.

Israel’s next scoring opportunity came in the seventh inning, beginning with walks by Schreck and Levenson. Garrett Stubbs laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position, bringing Carrigg to the plate. He lined a ball 101.3 mph off the bat into center field, where Ismael Munguía made an incredible diving catch to likely save two runs. Israel faced little trouble the rest of the way, and Tommy Kahnle came in during the ninth inning and threw a 1-2-3 frame to end the game.

The victory ensured that Israel had clinched a spot in the next World Baseball Classic, as they can no longer finish below 1–3, while Nicaragua cannot finish above 1–3. With Israel holding the tiebreaker, Nicaragua is eliminated from surpassing them in the standings.

Box Score

Final: Israel 5, Nicaragua 0
Date: March 8, 2026
Venue: loanDepot park

Line Score
Nicaragua — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors
Israel — 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 X — 5 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors

Israel Batters

Horwitz (1B): 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Bader (CF): 5 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K
Schreck (RF): 1 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K
Levenson (LF): 3 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Rosengard (PR–2B): 0 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Stubbs, G (DH): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Carrigg (SS): 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Gelof (3B): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Mendlinger (2B–LF): 3 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
Stubbs, C (C): 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K

Totals — 29 AB, 5 R, 8 H, 5 RBI, 6 BB, 7 K

Nicaragua Batters

Dawson (LF): 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Downs, Jet (2B): 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Munguia (CF): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Cuthbert (1B): 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Vientos (3B): 3 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Mendoza (DH): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
Leyton (PR–DH): 0 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Trujillo (PH–DH): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Montes (RF): 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Sandoval (PH–RF): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Novoa (C): 2 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Zamora (SS): 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Orozco (PH–SS): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Totals — 28 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K

Israel Pitchers

Kremer (W, 1-0): 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Mallitz (H, 1): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Bowman: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Lazar: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Kahnle: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Totals — 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 0 HR

Nicaragua Pitchers

Rodriguez, C (L, 0-1): 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Mejia: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Ramírez, JC: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Teller: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Burton: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Rayo, O: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Totals — 8.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 7 K, 0 HR

Israel Game Notes

Batting
Total Bases — Bader; Carrigg 2; Horwitz; Levenson; Mendlinger 3

RBIs — Bader (1); Carrigg (1); Levenson (2); Mendlinger (1)

Two-out RBI — Carrigg

Runners left in scoring position with two outs — Gelof (3); Horwitz

Sacrifice — Stubbs, G

Grounded Into Double Play — Levenson

Team RISP — 4-for-10
Team LOB — 9

Baserunning
Stolen Bases — Carrigg (2)

Pickoffs — Mendlinger

Fielding
Double Plays — Gelof–Horwitz