Wang Jin-yong's run-scoring groundout broke a 4-all tie in the bottom of the sixth and the Elephants held on to edge the Chinatrust Whales 5-4 in Hsinchu on Tuesday evening.
It was the veteran third baseman's second game-winning hit in five games, although Wang hit it into a double play that might have kept his team from putting up more runs in the inning.
Wasting little time against Whales starter Lorenzo Barcelo, the Elephants opened the game with a three-run first, courtesy of Peng "Chia Chia" Cheng-min's 19th homer of the year, a three-run shot over the leftfield wall.
The lead did not last long as the Whales answered with two runs of their own off Elephants starter Joey Dawley in the top of the second on Wang Hsin-min's two-run single. The Whales grabbed a 4-3 lead in the third on Carlos Villalobas' two-run blast off a struggling Dawley.
Chen Jiang-ho's two-out single with a man on second tied things at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth, setting the stage for Wang Jin-yong's game-winner two innings later.
Wu Jing-yi was credited with the win for his four solid innings of one-hit relief.
Tagged with the loss was Barcelo, who allowed all five of the Elephants' runs on 10 hits over six frames while fanning six and walking just one.
Lions 11, Bulls 3
The President Lions continued their winning ways by grinding out eleven runs on 16 hits to top the Sinon Bulls 11-3 in Tainan on Tuesday night for their sixth victory in a row.
Pete Munro shrugged off two first-inning runs by allowing only one more run over the next six innings en route to his 14th win of the year. His offense also did its part with three runs in the bottom of the first to overtake a brief Bulls lead when Chen Lien-hong got hold of an offering from Alfredo Gonzalez and deposited it into the leftfield seats for a three-run homer.
After the Bulls managed to tie the game up at 3-3 in the fifth on Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan's RBI single, it was all Lions as they erupted for four runs in the bottom of the fifth on three straight two-out singles. They went on to seal the deal with another four-run burst in the eighth for a convincing win.
Pocketing the loss for the Bulls was Gonzalez, whose bid to win his 10th of the year fell short against an unforgiving Lions lineup.
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