Kao Yuan Senior High School used three big runs in the top of the eighth to break a three-all gridlock and held on to defeat Nan Ying Vocational High School 6-3 in the title game of the annual PX Cup High School Baseball Tournament in Taichung on Thursday evening.
The win not only gave Kao Yuan a perfect 4-0 record in this year’s competition, but also helped defend its title to start what could be another dynasty for the perennial high school baseball powerhouse out of Kaohsiung County, whose impressive list of alumni include former major leaguer Tsao Chin-hui and the defending ERA champ of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball Chen Wei-yin.
Starter Chen Sheng-nan fell behind 0-1 early in the game, but managed to regain his composure by allowing only a pair of runs on four hits the rest of the way to lift his team past their archrivals from Tainan. The lefty ace for Kao Yuan gave up three runs on seven hits while fanning eleven in a performance that earned him the tournament MVP honor.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
“I really didn’t have a good start tonight; it took until the third inning for me to get back on track,” Chen said.
His gutsy effort more than backed up his status as Taiwan’s No. 1 high school pitching prospect.
Nan Ying drew first blood in the highly anticipated match between the two top high school programs in the south by scoring a run off Chen on an RBI single by Lin Chang-ching following a walk issued by Chen and a sacrifice bunt on the ensuring play to put the runner in scoring position.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Kao Yuan rallied from behind with three runs off Nan Ying starter Tsai Cheng-han in the top of the fourth, courtesy of a bases-loaded two-run double by Liao Jung-lin and a sacrifice-fly by Luo Guo-lin that made it 3-1.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth, the Nan Ying offense returned in the bottom of the seventh with three straight singles off Chen, all with two outs, to even things up at 3-3.
Chen buckled down to get out of the inning without further damage while the Kao Yuan bats came alive in the eighth with four straight singles off two different Nan Ying relievers to deliver the game-winning runs.
“We knew it would be a tough fight for us heading into the game and that was exactly what we got … I am just really proud of our players for being able to come back to win it in the end,” Kao Yuan captain Lee Lai-fa said after the game.
Shi Yuan Senior High School 10 Sanhsin High School of Commerce and Home Economics 5
In the battle for third place between Taichung’s Shi Yuan Senior High School and Kaohsiung City’s Sanhsin High School of Commerce and Home Economics, Shi Yuan overcame an early deficit to win it 10-5 on Thursday afternoon.
After falling behind by three through the top of the third, Shi Yuan took advantage of three rare errors by Sanhsing and pounded five hits off starter Chung Wei-shiang for seven runs to overtake the lead.
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