Chen Huai-shan’s walk-off single with some crafty base-running by Chen “the Golden Warrior” from second scored the game-winning run for the Brother Elephants in the bottom of the ninth as they outmaneuvered the Sinon Bulls to win in a 10-9 decision at Taichung on Saturday night.
The veteran switch-hitter who has contributed steadily on both sides of the ball over the year came through once again by legging out an infield single while the Golden Warrior surprised the Sinon defense by charging the home plate in the midst some confusion on the part of the Bulls to produce the game-winner for the Elephants.
“Anything is possible on a baseball field, as long as you are willing to push it to the edge on every chance you get,” the Golden Warrior said after the game while celebrating the dramatic win with his teammates.
The Bulls needed little time to adjust to Elephants starter Liao Yu-cheng as they dialed up eight quick runs off the submariner over the first three innings. Cheng Da-hong’s RBI-groundout got things moving in the right direction for the Bulls in the top of the first before they teed off against Liao with a five-run second that featured three consecutive run-scoring doubles.
Chen Huai-shan’s groundout to short with a man on third got the Elephants on the board in the bottom of the second only to see the Bulls tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the third to lead it 8-1.
After the Elephants put up two more runs in the third to make it 3-8, the hitters suddenly lost their groove as the pitchers dominated the next three innings until the Elephants erupted for six runs in the seventh to actually take a 9-8 lead midway through the seventh.
The Bulls would eventually tie the game up at 9-all in the top of the ninth when reliever Tseng Jia-min served up a walk and a single to set up Chen Chih-wei’s game-tying groundout to short.
Fortunately for Tseng, his offense would scrape up one more run in the bottom of the inning to convert a blown save for the rookie righty into his first “W” of the year.
Taking the disheartening loss for the Bulls was Tseng’s counterpart Lin Chi-wei who fell victim to gutsy base-running.
Bears 6, Whales 0
The La New Bears bounced back nicely from a tough loss to the Lions on Thursday with a dominating 6-0 shutout win over the Chinatrust Whales in Tienmu for their sixth win in the past eight games.
Bears starter Hsu Wen-hsiung made sure his bullpen would not squander another good start by taking a three-hit shutout one out into the eighth before handing off to fellow reliever Hsu Chih-hua.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
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