Game Two of the series between the La New Bears and the President Lions in Kaohsiung belonged to the Lions as they humbled the home Bears by silencing their big bats in a 4-1 decision on Sunday.
Rob Cordemans of the Netherlands took a shutout two outs into the eighth on his Taiwanese debut before being relieved by closer Tseng Yi-cheng in a fine effort off the mound. The newly acquired Lions starter scattered six hits while fanning one and walking four en route to his first win of the season.
Also pitching well into the eighth was Bears starter Horacio Estrada of Venezuela, who allowed four runs on six hits, including a two-run blast to the Lions' Tilson Brito in the top of the eighth, for his first loss of the year.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
The game began with the visiting Lions striking first in the opening frame on Brito's RBI single off Estrada for a quick 1-0 lead before they made it 2-0 an inning later on outfielder Liu Fu-hao's two-out double that easily scored the runner from second.
The Lions would double their lead in the eighth after five scoreless innings of play on Brito's two-run shot.
Down 0-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the Bears tried to make it interesting by placing their first two batters at the corners against Tseng with no outs. But Chen Fong-min only managed to knock in a run when he hit into a double play on the ensuing at-bat to end the Bears' scoring threat.
Whales 5, Elephants 2
Huang Kwei-yu's bases-clearing triple in the top of the eighth was the difference in the game as the Chinatrust Whales scored five unanswered runs to rally past the Brother Elephants in a 5-2 triumph at Hualien.
The ninth-year slugger out of the Fu Jen Catholic University broke a 2-2 tie in the decisive eighth by driving a knee-high pitch from Elephants reliever Liu Jung-nan right into the left-center gap of the Elephants outfield to cap a three-run inning that had the Whales sending seven men to the plate.
Liu Gheng-hsin's lining single down the third base line off Whales starter Tseng Jau-hao in the bottom of the fifth broke a scoreless tie in the game as the Elephants went ahead 2-0.
Second baseman Wang Yi-min would score on Mike Lockwood's hard double to left after leading off the top of the sixth with a clean single off Elephants starter Nick Bierbrodt to half the Elephants' lead.
Jee Jung-lin followed with an opposite-field double an inning later to tie the game at 2-2, setting the scene for Huang's eighth-inning heroics with the game on the line.
Closer Miguel Saladin pitched a perfect ninth to preserve the win for reliever Chu Wei-ming who entered the game in the seventh and retired all four of the Elephants he faced in a stellar effort.
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