Taiwan captain Ngayaw Ake (also known as Lin Chih-sheng, 林智勝) led by example when he blasted a three-run homer against Cuba pitcher Danny Betancourt in the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie to lead the hosts to a 4-1 victory over Cuba in World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 action at the Taichung Intercontinental Stadium last night.
It was a night to remember, marking a rare victory against the Red Lightning.
Taiwan last beat Cuba in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup. Since then, Cuba had recorded five straight wins against Taiwan in major international competitions.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
Taiwan opened the scoring in the second frame, when outfielder Yang Dai-kang (陽岱鋼) hit a grounder up the middle to drive Chen Yung-chi (陳鏞基) home.
A pitching duel then ensued between both teams’ starters — Taiwan’s Sung Chia-hao (宋家豪) and Cuba’s Yoanni Yera — with the hosts hanging on to a slender one-run lead.
Cuba leveled the game at 1-1 in the sixth inning, when Cuba outfielder Alfredo Despaigne hit a bouncer that Taiwan shortstop Kuo Yen-wen (郭嚴文) could not handle, allowing runner Yulieski Gurriel to come home from third base.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
That set the stage for Lin’s heroics in the eighth, with his third homer in three straight games for the hosts to chalk up an important victory.
In other results from last night, Canada blanked Italy 4-0 in Group A, while South Korea edged Mexico 4-3 and Japan overwhelmed the US 10-2 in the showdown between the two top teams in Group B.
The US led 2-1 until the fifth frame, but in subsequent innings the Samurai Warriors exploded with long-ball firepower to take the victory.
With two men on base, slugger Nakata Sho struck a towering shot that landed in the seats for a three-run homer in the sixth. Then with bases loaded, Japan captain Matsuda Nobuhiro clobbered a grand slam homer over the left-field fence in the seventh inning to ensure the win.
In yesterday’s afternoon action, the Netherlands piled on runs early to go 8-0 by the second inning, and coasted to an 11-7 triumph over Puerto Rico.
The other afternoon contest saw a spirited comeback victory by Venezuela in an 8-6 triumph over the Dominican Republic.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS