Clutch hitting with runners in scoring position lifted Team Taiwan past the United States in a 4-2 win on Thursday as the home side finished out the round-robin preliminary round of the 2006 World University Softball Championship in Tainan with a perfect 5-0 record.
Lai Meng-ting went 2-for-3 against a tough American pitching that had given up only three runs over a four-game span, each hit delivering an RBI for her club, to account for half of the offensive production in a game. Team Taiwan also made the most of the five hits it smashed by plating four runs (two earned) for the game, thanks to a pair of costly errors by the American defense.
Both of the errors committed by the US led to a Taiwanese score; the first allowing Taiwan to score its second run of game in the bottom of the first and the second giving the runner on first a chance to sprint all the way home for Taiwan's third run of the contest in the bottom of the second inning.
The home team might have been outhit by the American ladies as far as the hit total was concerned (8-to-5), but two of them found the sweet spots in the outfield for a pair of rare triples against the defending champs.
The game began with Team USA claiming a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Lindsay Schutzler led off the game with a walk from Taiwanese starter Wu Chia-yen and scored two batters later on a double-steal that worked to perfection.
That would be the only lead that the Team USA enjoyed as Taiwan answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the first on consecutive triples by Chen Miao-yi and Lai to tie the game at 1-all before the first error by American shortstop Courtney Bures promptly made it 2-1 in favor of Taiwan.
After the second error by the US scored the third run of the game for Taiwan in the bottom of the second to make it 3-1, Team USA would rally with slugger Cambria Miranda's solo homer off Wu to trail the home team 3-2.
That was as close as Team USA got as Lai knocked in an insurance run with an RBI single to seal the win.
Wu was credited with the win for tossing 3-2/3 innings of two-run ball on five hits, before fellow reliever Lai Sheng-jung followed with 3-1/3 innings of scoreless relief to secure the victory for Taiwan.
Taking the tough loss for the US was starter Brianne McGowan, who allowed three runs (only one earned) on as many hits in two innings of play, falling victim to a defense that committed two fatal errors in a losing cause.
Taiwan 15, Thailand 0
Wednesday's match between Taiwan and Thailand was all Taiwan from the get go as it struck for seven first-inning runs on the strength of four hits and an error by the Thai defense, before the 15-0 blowout ended after the fourth on the basis of the mercy rule.
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