Taiwan came up short against Cuba in the second round action at the 18U Baseball World Cup Tournament, dropping a crushing 1-0 decision at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium last night to settle for a 1-2 record.
Yusnier Diaz’s walk-off single off reliever Sung Wen-hua in the bottom of the ninth was the game-winner, breaking a scoreless tie in the final inning of regulation-time to deal the hosts one of the toughest losses in the event’s recent history.
The run was unearned as Diaz reached first by way of a fielding error by Taiwan third baseman Yang Chia-wei, who failed to field a sharp grounder by Diaz cleanly
JAPAN 10, SOUTH KOREA 0 (7TH)
Japan remained unbeaten in this year’s competition after trouncing South Korea in seven innings at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium yesterday afternoon to put their record in the second round at 3-0.
Starter Yuki Matsui was on top of his game for Japan as he coasted through the sixth with minimal resistance from South Korea, allowing no runs on four hits while fanning six and walking three. Other than a leadoff double that he served to Kim Tae-jin in the top of the third, the righty was in control of the game from the start.
Ryo Watanabe’s perfect 4-for-4 hitting with a pair of RBIs championed a Japan lineup that ripped through South Korea’s pitching with an even dozen hits.
Japan also put forth a tremendous defence when catcher Tomoya Mori gunned down a runner attempting to steal third in the bottom of the third for an inning-ending out that stopped a crucial scoring threat from South Korea.
Matsui was credited with the win while the loss was charged to his counterpart Lim Ji-seob who allowed five runs on six hits in 1-2/3 innings of play.
ITALY 4, CZECH REPUBLIC 0
In the battle for 11th-place at the Douliou County Baseball Stadium yesterday, Italy blanked the Czech Republic with a four-run eighth that broke a scoreless tie.
Alnl Joel Valera’s two-run home run off Czech reliever Lukas Ercoli in the top of the eighth capped the four-run scoring spree that handed Italy the triumph.
MEXICO 7, COLOMBIA 3
Mexico closed out the 10-day competition with a win over Colombia in Douliou to take ninth place.
Yesterday’s other scores were:
‧ USA 15, Venezuela 5 (7th)
‧ Canada 17, Australia 3
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