Taiwan had high hopes with Yang Chien-fu on the mound yesterday in Taichung. But Japan had other plans.
Japan used a big seventh inning to beat Taiwan 10-2. The victory made Japan 3-0 in the tournament and sent them to the Olympics.
Taiwan starting pitcher Yang has been successful against Japan in the past. He beat them in last year's Intercontinental Cup and this year's Baseball World Cup. The local media has even dubbed him the "Anti-Japanese Hero." But his efforts yesterday were far from heroic.
In the top of the first, Japanese leadoff hitter Tsuyoshi Nishioka hit a single and Takahiro Arai drove him in with a single to left field.
Taiwan answered in the bottom of the sixth when Peng Cheng-min hit a single and Chin Chin-feng followed with a two-run home run.
But then the thrashing started in the top of the seventh. First Japan got to Yang, who was pulled after loading the bases with no outs. Saburo Omura hit a sacrifice bunt to tie the score 2-2 and then Nishioka, Munenori Kawasaki, Arai and Shinnosule Abe all hit RBI singles to put Japan up 7-2.
Japan added three more runs in the top of the ninth and went on to win 10-2.
In the afternoon game, South Korea beat the Philippines 13-1.
Alejandro Velasquez doubled to knock in the only run for the battered Philippines, who ended up going 0-3 in the championship round of the tournament. The Philippines made it into the second round after besting Hong Kong, Pakistan and Thailand in the earlier round last week.
South Korea belted 16 hits off Filipino pitching while getting a solid performance from starter Ryu Jae-kuk and relievers Ryu Taek-hyun and Kwon-hyuk, who scattered four hits.
South Korea's Ko Young-min hit a two-run homer during a four-run sixth that put the game out of reach.
South Korea and Taiwan ended up finishing second and third respectively in the tournament. They both have a final chance to make the Olympics at another qualifying round set to be played in Taiwan in March.
Cuba, the Netherlands and the USA have all already earned spots in the Olympics. Since China is hosting the Olympics, they have an automatic bid.
It would be devastating for Taiwan not to make the Olympics because 2008 will be the final year, for the foreseeable future, that baseball will be played at the Games. In July 2005 during a secret voted conducted in Singapore the International Olympic Committee voted to remove both baseball and softball from the Olympics program. They were the first sports to be removed since polo was given the boot in 1936.
Baseball first became a medal Olympics sport in 1992.
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