Kao Chih-kang's two-out double with a runner on second scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Team Taiwan rallied from behind to edge past the Chinatrust Whales 2-1 at the IBAF Final Olympic Qualification Tournament at Douliou on Thursday evening.
Taiwan's 2003 Asia Baseball Cup hero who also knocked in the game-winner against South Korea in extra-innings to earn his country a ticket into the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens came through once again by lining an offering from the Whales' Du Chang-wei down the third-base line to keep his team's non-losing streak intact at 2-0-1 in the exhibition round.
"It's one of those situations where you just have to go with whatever comes your way," a humble Kao said after the game. He has quietly earned himself the reputation of "Mr Late-innings."
The contest began with neither offense managing to do much at the plate against the solid pitching of Whales starter Steve Watkins of the US and well-traveled veteran righty Chang Chih-jia for Taiwan. Other than the Whales' third-inning run off Chang and a single by the Whales' Wang Hsin-min to put runners at the corner with no outs, the pitchers seemed to have the opposing batters well under control through the first four innings of play.
But after Watkins had thrown 63 pitches in a one-hit shutout through the fourth, it was rookie right-hander Huang Hong-ren's turn to show what he could do against the top hitters that the country had to offer.
Even though Huang allowed a pair of hits to start off the fifth and needed a spectacular double play from fellow infielder Wang Yi-min to bail him out of the inning unharmed, Team Taiwan's Lin Tseh-hsuen made sure his luck ran out in the sixth when he deposited a pitch from Huang well into leftfield seats for a solo home run that tied the game up at 1-1 and eventually forced the Whales hurler out of the game.
The score remained tied with both bullpens doing trying to keep the hitter off balance in a classic pitchers' standoff until Kao's late-game heroics sealed it in the ninth.
Picking up the victory for the national squad was reliever Luo Jia-ren who tossed a perfect ninth on just nine pitches with a couple of strikeouts to salvage what had been a rather disappointing three-game showing for Team Taiwan.
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