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Taiwanese baseball team beats South Korea in Sapporo

An overseas Taiwanese student surnamed Wang, left, and a Japanese friend wave Taiwanese national flags as they watch a baseball match between Taiwan and South Korea at the 2009 Asian Championship in Japan’s northern city of Sapporo yesterday. PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

The Taiwanese team yesterday beat South Korea 5-4 in the opening match of the final round of the 25th Asian Baseball Championships that began in Sapporo, Japan.

Good batting by Wu Tsung-chun (吳宗峻) put the team ahead 4-2, after trailing 1-2 in the third inning.

The score remained unchanged until the seventh inning, when pitcher Huang Chih-lung (黃志龍) ran into problems. South Korea seized the opportunity to level the score at 4-4.

The Taiwanese team had four consecutive hits in the first half of the ninth inning thanks to Lin Han-yi (林瀚一), Kuo Ming-jen (郭銘仁), Lin Kuo-min (林國民) and Lin Hung-yu (林泓育). Lin Hung-yu’s hit gave Taiwan a 5-4 lead.

Pitcher Wang Ching-ming (王鏡銘) performed well in the second half of the ninth inning to secure the victory.

Many overseas Taiwanese were present at the game and a Taiwanese student surnamed Wang, who is studying at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, brought the national flag while his friend wore a T-shirt with the word “Taiwan” written on it.

Wang said that as there are not many Taiwanese students in Hokkaido, he brought his Japanese roommate to help cheer the team.

Wang, who graduated from the veterinarian department at National Taiwan University, took up doctoral studies at Hokkaido University three years ago. When he learned that the baseball tournament would be played in Hokkaido a month ago, he immediately asked a visiting friend to bring a national flag.

Some Taiwanese tourists visiting Hokkaido were also among the spectators.
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