CPBL: Kao the hero does it again as Lions defeat Elephants

Kao Jung-chiang of the Chinatrust Whales, left, tags out Cheng Da-hong of the Sinon Bulls, center, between second and third base in their Chinese Professional Baseball League game in Taichung on Thursday. The Whales won 4-2. PHOTO: CHAN CHAO-YANG, TAIPEI TIMES

Kao Chih-kang's walk-off single with the bases loaded scored the game-winner in the bottom of the 11th as the President Lions rallied from three down to top the Brother Elephants 7-6 at the Taipei County Baseball Stadium in Sinjhuang on Thursday evening.

The hero of the 2003 Asian Baseball Championship in Japan, whose game-clinching single in an extra-inning win over South Korea sent Taiwan to the 2004 Summer Olympics, did it once again by slapping a pitch from the Elephants' Todd Moser to shallow-right to score the runner from third.

"It's one of those things that you don't wish for but would gladly take on when it's presented to you," Kao said after the game. "I wouldn't have had the opportunity to win it if it hadn't been for my teammates' homers."

Kao was absolutely correct about his teammates' contributions, mainly Liu Fu-hao's three-run home run off Elephants starter Steve Kent in the bottom of the third that erased a 0-3 deficit and Kuo Dai-chi's two-run blast off reliever Chung Pei-chuan in the bottom of the seventh to cap a three-run rally that forced a 6-6 tie.

"It's one of those things that you don't wish for but would gladly take on when it's presented to you."

Kao Chih-kang, President Lions veteran

After the Lions managed to even things up at 6-all in the seventh, the Elephants offense would have the leadoff man reach safely on three of the next four innings. But they simply could not come up with the timely hits necessary to produce any runs, setting the stage for Kao's extra-inning magic.

Picking up the win in his first appearance of the year was Lions right-hander Lin Yueh-ping, who allowed no runs on a lone hit over two-and-two-third innings of stellar relief to beat his counterpart Moser, who gave up the decisive run on four hits over one-and-two-third innings for his first loss of the season.

Offensively for the Elephants, the heart of the order that included Chen "Golden Warrior" Chih-yuan, Chen Guan-ren and Chen Rei-cheng continued its red-hot hitting by going a combined 10-for-17 with six RBIs to account for all of the Elephants' run production.

WHALES 4, BULLS 2

The Chinatrust Whales also needed to work long into the night with two runs in the top of the 12th to beat the Sinon Bulls 4-2 in Taichung on Thursday.

Carlos Villalobos was the hero in this one with a clutch double off the left-center wall that plated two runs in the 12th before the Whales closer Shen Yu-jeh retired the side in order to record his first win of the year.

The Whales needed little time getting on the board with Wang Hsin-min doubling in the game's first run off Bulls starter Shen Fu-ren in the top of the second for a quick 1-0 lead before the hosts answered with the equalizer in the bottom of the second to tie it up at 1-1.

Kao Jung-chiang's RBI single in the top of the third promptly put the Whales ahead 2-1, a lead they would hold until the bottom of the ninth when Chang Jien-ming beat out the throw from short for an infield and scored one out later on Cheng Da-hong's liner over the middle to force the game into extra innings.

Tagged with the loss on the night was Bulls reliever Wang Guo-jin, who entered during the 10th and cruised through the 11th before running into a world of trouble in the 12th to lose the game.