Hirokazu Ibata drove home the winning run in the top of the ninth inning yesterday to lift the Chunichi Dragons to a 6-5 win over South Korea's SK Wyverns in the final of the Asia Series.
three-peat
Ibata singled to center at the Tokyo Dome off reliever Mike Romano, scoring the runner from second as a team from the Japanese professional baseball league won the tournament for the third-straight year.
The South Korean team tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer by Lee Jin-young.
Chunichi reliever Yoshihiro Suzuki picked up the win after recording one out in the eighth. Hitoki Iwase retired the side in the ninth for the save.
The Dragons won their first Japan Series championship on Nov. 2 by beating Trey Hillman's Nippon Ham Fighters in five games.
previous winners
The Fighters won last year's Asia Series. Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines won the title in 2005.
The Asia Series featured the top teams from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, as well as a select team from China's pro league managed by former major leaguer Jim Lefebvre.
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