Saving their best for last, the La New Bears clinched the second-half title on the last day of regular-season play with a 4-1 road win over the President Lions in Tainan on Wednesday night.
Having trailed the Lions for most of the second half of the season, the defending champs found form to win nine of their last dozen games and qualify for the postseason.
As a result of the loss, the Lions (31-18-1) became only the third team in league history not to win a regular season title despite winning 30 or more games in the half-season. They will have to settle for taking on the Macoto Cobras in the best-of-five Playoff Series that begins in Sinjhuang tonight for the right to face the Bears in the Taiwan Series.
The showdown between the top two clubs in the league saw the visitors taking it to the Lions with a pair of solo homers by Lin Chih-sheng and Shih Chih-wei off starter Brian Reith in the top of the second.
A sudden downpour in the top of the third halted the game for nearly an hour, before the Bears added to their lead with a run in the fourth on Yu Jin-deh's RBI double.
Kao Guo-ching's solo blast off Bears starter Huang Jung-chung finally got the Lions on the board, bringing the Tainan crowd back into the game. It was Kao's second hit on the night, giving the veteran first baseman a new league record for most hits in a single season (152).
Kao's homer turned out to be the Lions' lone run in the game against a stellar outing by game-winner Huang, who scattered five hits and struck out seven before handing the game over to reliever Suzuki Macoto in the sixth.
The Japanese right-hander was equal to the task, retiring all 10 of the Lions hitters he faced over three-and-a-third perfect innings to preserve the win for the Bears.
Picking up the loss after starting out his stint with the Lions by collecting seven wins in a row was Reith, who allowed all four of the Bears' runs on eleven hits in his third-straight defeat.
Whales 7, Elephants 1
Two costly errors by the defense led to six unearned runs for the Chinatrust Whales, resulting in a 7-1 loss for the Brother Elephants in Sinjhuang on Wednesday evening.
The classic pitchers' duel between the Whales' Chu Wei-ming and Elephants starter Liao Yu-cheng saw neither offense able to score through the first four frames, despite the Elephants leadoff man reaching base safely in two of the four innings.
It took an RBI groundout by the Whales' Wu Hso-fan and a poor throw to first by Liao on what would have been an inning-ending out to give the Whales a 2-0 advantage in the top of the fifth.
Wang Jin-yong's wild throw in the top of the seventh led to five more unearned runs in the inning as the Whales claimed a comfortable 7-0 lead.
Chen "The Golden Warrior" Chih-yuan's lining single up the middle finally got the Elephants on the board in the eighth, but that was the end of the scoring.
Chu was credited with his seventh win of the year to finish with a solid 7-2 record for tossing six scoreless innings of four-hit ball, while Liao took the loss, even though all but one of the Whales' seven runs were unearned.
Tonight's Game:
Game 1 in this year's Playoff Series between the Macoto Cobras and the President Lions.
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