Chen Ching-fong (陳金鋒) found his swing again last night, powering Taiwan past South Korea 5-1 in the Baseball World Cup at the Chengching Lake Stadium in Kaohsiung County.
The victory, before a crowd of 17,000, gave Taiwan a final record of 6-1 in round-robin play and first place in Group A.
Taiwan will face the Netherlands on Friday in a quarterfinal game at Shinchuan Stadium in Taipei County.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Four teams from the two eight-team groups qualified for the medal round.
In other quarterfinal matchups on Friday, Japan plays South Korea, Cuba faces the Dominican Republic, and Panama plays the US.
Chen, who played for Los Angeles' Double-A Jacksonville team this year, went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and a RBI triple.
He had gone 0-for-12 the previous three games in the tournament, following an 8-for-9 start.
Amateur player Chang Chih-chia (張誌家) earned his second win of the tournament, striking out 12 while allowing six hits in going the distance.
Last Friday, he pitched four shutout innings in relief to beat Nicaragua.
Panama 8, Australia 2
At Tienmu Stadium, Panama overcame a 2-1 deficit with seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to eliminate Australia and grab the second third seed in Group B.
Nine straight Panamanian batters got on base in the big inning, keyed by a 2-RBI single by Orlando Miller that drove in the winning run for the Panamanians.
"These people [the Australian team] had me scared for a long time. Thank the Lord we were able to have a big inning and come through with a win," said Panama manager Karl Heron.
Japan 6, Netherlands 5
At Tienmu Stadium, Japan completed round robin play undefeated by holding off the Netherlands. The Dutch rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth inning, but left the tying run at third base.
Dominican Rep. 15, South Africa 5
In Chiayi City, the Dominican Republic routed South Africa in seven innings, relying on a late burst with six-run innings in the fifth and seventh innings.
Team USA 17, France 0
In Kaohsiung, the US routed France in Group B to place second. Marty Malloy, who formerly played with the Atlanta Braves, was 4-for-6 with 4 RBIs to lead the US to its third straight win.
The US placed second in Group B after losing two games.
Cuba 11, Russia 1
In Shinchuan, Michel Enrique drove in four runs on three hits to lead Cuba in a game halted after eight innings.
Canada 7, Philippines 0
At Shinchuan, Ryan Radmonovich had two triples, a single, and an RBI to lead Canada (2-5) over winless Philippines.
Nicaragua 5, Italy 2
In Chiayi City, Sandy Moreno had three hits as Nicaragua edged Italy. Both teams missed the medal round after making it to the semifinals at the last Baseball World Cup in 1998.
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