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Chinatrust Whales edge La New Bears in close encounter

Kuo Dai-yong's clutch single with a runner on second scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth and Kevin Tolar retired the heart of the La New Bears order to preserve the 6-5 win for the Chinatrust Whales in Kaohsiung on Thursday evening.

The timely single by Kuo was his third hit on a 3-for-5 night, giving him the game-MVP honor.

Down by a run, the home Bears made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth by placing runners on first and second with one out and cleanup hitter Chen Chin-fong who homered earlier in the game at the plate facing Tolar.

But the American closer was able to shake off the late-inning pressure by striking out Chen before getting Lin Chih-sheng to fly out to right to record his second win of the season.

The see-saw battle featured four lead-changes that saw the hosts draw first blood in the bottom of the second when Chen Chin-fong jump-started the Bears attack with a solo blast off Whales starter Su Tseh-yi.

After the Whales managed to tie things up in the top of the fourth with Hsu Ren-jeh's sacrifice fly off Bears starter Gary Rath, the Bears reclaimed a 2-1 advantage in the fifth on Yu chin-deh's RBI single.

A throwing error by Bears shortstop Lin Chih-sheng on a would-be, inning-ending double play, coupled with three singles by the Whales translated into a four-run sixth for the home side as they took a 5-3 lead.

The Bears scored a run in the sixth before picking up two more in the seventh on consecutive scoring singles off Whales reliever Shen Yu-jeh to force the third tie of the game at 5-5, setting the stage for Kuo's ninth-inning heroics.

Cobras 7, Elephants 3

Wang Chuan-jia batted a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBIs to back up starter Chang Hsien-chih as the Macoto Cobras beat the Brother Elephants 7-3 in Douliou on Thursday night.

A chopper through the middle by Ivanon Coffie broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fifth to give the visiting Cobras a 2-1 lead only to see the Elephants counter with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning on Chen Chih-hong's two-run single to make it 3-2.

The lead lasted less than an innings as the Cobras capitalized on a throwing error that ended up sparking a three-run sixth to regain a 5-3 cushion.

Wang's two-run double in the eighth made it 7-3 and that was how it ended.

Chang was credited with the win to improve to 7-4 for the year, allowing three runs (only one earned) on seven hits in as many innings.

Offensively for the Cobras, Lin "Wild Hog" Hong-yuan extended his hitting streak to 11 games. The veteran slugger, who was released by the President Lions during the offseason, has made the most of his second chance with the Cobras by maintaining a .359 average, the third best in the league.
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