Tempers flared and the benches cleared, but Canada kept their heads to come from behind and be the first team to beat Taiwan, 6-5, in extra innings on day four of the IBAF Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taichung yesterday.
The win moves Canada into a tie with Taiwan for second place. Canada holds a potential tiebreaker courtesy of its head-to-head result.
Poor fielding by Canada allowed Taiwan to get on the board in the first inning. With runners on first and second, Chang Tai-shan hit a grounder down the middle that should have been a routine double play. But a poor throw allowed one run, and Lin Yi-chuan followed with an RBI hit to put Taiwan up 2-0.
PHOTO: CHAN CHAO-YANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Canada answered in the top of the third with three consecutive bunts and a pair of hits to tie the score. They then went ahead after adding runs in the fifth and sixth.
Down 4-2 in the sixth, Taiwan came back off a three-run home run by Lo Kuo-hui, Taiwan's best hitter in the tournament.
The game reached a boiling point in the top of the eighth when Chang Chien-ming delivered an excellent throw to Yen Chun-chang, who was waiting at home plate for a charging Jimmy Van Ostrand. Despite the collision, Yen held on to the ball, which he threw up into the air in celebration. But the ball hit Van Ostrand on the head, clearing the benches as fans threw water bottles and other objects onto the field, delaying the game.
Eventually the game resumed, and it was all Canada. Down by one in the top of the ninth, Stubby Clapp hit a single and moved to second after a wild pitch by Lo Chia-jen. Mike Saunders followed with a hit to right field and Clapp beat the throw to tie the score at five.
In the top of the 10th Matt Rogelstad hit a single to right and Van Ostrand followed with an RBI double to put Canada up 6-5. Van Ostrand moved to third off a single by Nick Weglarz but was tagged out at home and Adam Stern was out at first to end the inning.
Taiwan had a chance to come back in the bottom of the 10th when Lin Che-hsuan and Peng Cheng-min both reached base on singles. But Lin Yi-chuan hit into a double play, ending Taiwan's hopes for a comeback and handing them their first loss of the tournament.
Starting pitcher Ni Fu-te led the way for Taiwan with an excellent pitching show. He gave up four runs, three of which were earned, over 8 2/3 innings against a Canadian lineup that managed 15 runs against Mexico on Friday. Ni gave up nine hits and struck out four.
The competition rests today and continues tomorrow.
South Korea 14, Spain 5
South Korea continued its roll toward the Olympics at the Douliou stadium in Yunlin County yesterday afternoon, defeating Spain in an offensive contest that lasted nearly four hours.
South Korea's hitters battered Spain's overmatched pitching staff with 16 hits, including three from red-hot second baseman Ko Young-min and a no-doubt home run from first baseman Lee Sung-yeop, his second of the tournament. Starting pitcher Kim Sun-woo pitched five innings for the win, giving up four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Spain turned in a surprisingly resilient performance against the strongest team so far, knocking out 11 hits of their own, including a four-run bottom of the fifth inning. Starting pitcher Manuel Olivera pitched well despite taking the loss and kept his team in the game.
South Korea's balanced and aggressive offense proved too much however, using speed and patient hitting to wear down the Spanish pitching staff.
Mexico 7, Australia 4
A key match at the Douliou stadium for both teams last night saw Mexico lead and Australia play catch-up baseball until the eighth inning, when Mexico hit three runs to Australia's one, then finishing in the ninth with another run for their first competition win.
Germany 4, South Africa 3
The winless South Africans started positively in yesterday's afternoon fixture at the Intercontinental Baseball Stadium with two runs in the first inning, only for the Germans to draw level at 3-3 in the sixth and clinch the game in the seventh, giving Germany hope for a top three finish.
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