Taiwan slaughtered China 13-1 yesterday at the 25th Asian Baseball Championship in Sapporo, Japan, exorcising the ghosts of its humiliating defeats to China at the Beijing Olympic Games last year and the World Baseball Classic in March.
The Taiwanese team unleashed its fury against the Chinese team with a total of three homeruns and 14 hits.
Taiwan opened the scoring with two points in the first inning, thanks to a wild pitch by Chinese starter Lu Jiangang and a second-base hit by Taiwan’s Lin Hung-yu (林泓育).
They scored another point in the second inning thanks to several defensive mistakes by Chinese players.
In the third inning, Taiwan began a powerful offensive, scoring six points by the end of that inning.
By the fourth inning, Taiwan had a seemingly unassailable 9-0 lead over China, made even stronger when Liu Chien-chung scored with a hit in the fifth.
By the sixth inning, the Taiwanese had secured a decisive 11-1 lead before finishing in the seventh inning 13-1 after Wu Tsung-chun (吳宗峻) hit a two-point homerun.
The Taiwanese team had been striving to even the score after unexpected losses in recent years to Chinese teams, which are regarded as having much less experience than the Taiwanese.
Taiwan beat South Korea 5-4 on Saturday in the championships that opened that day in Hokkaido, capital of Sapporo Prefecture.
It was defeated 6-5 by defending champion Japan the following day.
Four teams — South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China — are in the semi-final round of the regional baseball championships, which are held every two years.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
MATAIAN RIVER: Rescue operations were ongoing, with officials urging residents to move to higher floors where possible as teams focus first on those at ground level Floodwaters from the overflowing Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake swept into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) yesterday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people trapped and three missing as of press time last night, the Hualien County Fire Bureau said. The waters surged into downtown Guangfu after the riverbank burst at about 2:50pm, carrying mud and debris and submerging streets to rooftop level in some areas. Residents were seen climbing onto vehicles and rooftops to await rescue as thick, silt-laden water inundated the town. The surge destroyed the Mataian Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) and flooded the Guangfu Railway Station. Rescue operations were launched with support from fire departments
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
RSS