Taiwan defeated Brazil 10-4 on Friday to even their record at 2-2 in the second round of the IBAF 15 and Under Baseball World Championship in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Coming off losses in their two previous games to Venezuela and Cuba, Taiwan desperately needed a win against Brazil to keep their medal hopes alive in the inaugural 15 and Under tournament.
Taiwan held a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the fourth when they rallied for four runs on three hits — which included an RBI triple — two walks and two hit-by-pitches.
The team widened the gap to 8-1 in the bottom of the sixth and held off the Brazilians the rest of the way to secure the victory.
Taiwanese starter Chueh Ting-chin got the win after holding Brazil to one run on six hits over five innings.
He struck out three and walked two in an outing that kept his team in contention for a place in the tournament’s top three.
The top two finishers in the six-team elite second-round group play for the gold medal today, while the third and fourth place teams vie for bronze.
The victory over Brazil left Taiwan tied for third with Venezuela in the group with a 2-2 record.
Cuba, currently 4-0 in the second round with one game left to play, are assured of a spot in the championship game.
Mexico are second at 3-1, their only blemish a loss to Taiwan in the preliminary round that was carried over to the second round.
If Mexico were to lose their final round-robin game against Cuba yesterday and Taiwan were to defeat as-of-yet winless Nicaragua, leaving the two teams tied for second in the group with 3-2 records, Taiwan would face Cuba for the gold medal because of their head-to-head win over the Mexicans.
However, should Venezuela also win their final game against Brazil, creating a three-way tie for second, then Venezuela would finish second on run difference, helped by a 20-2 thumping of Taiwan on Wednesday.
Taiwan would then play Mexico for the bronze medal.
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