Chang Hao-wei’s clutch single with a runner in a scoring position broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the eighth as Taitung’s Chii Lih Coral held on to defeat Taichung’s Veetime in a 1-0 final at the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium yesterday afternoon to even the weekend series at one win apiece.
The Amis player made the most of his final plate appearance of the day by slapping a 0-2 offering from Veetime pitcher Juan Pena through the left side of the infield for what ended up being the game-winning hit to give the home team a much needed victory.
“I knew I fell behind on the pitch count, so I had to swing at anything that looked close,” Chang said afterward about his game-winning hit.
Photo courtesy of the CTBA
His steady improvement on the field has raised his stock ahead of the upcoming amateur draft.
A pitchers’ duel between Veetime’s Pena and Coral starter Huang Tzu-pong left the opposing offense empty-handed through the seventh as both hurlers managed to pitch into and out of trouble on more than one occasion.
Pena learned about Chang the hard way as he served up the game-winner to lose both a shutout bid and the game.
Huang pitched shutout ball with eight hits two outs into the eighth before being relieved by game-winner Luo Chia-ren after allowing runners to reach first and second. He missed the win by an out. Luo was awarded his first victory of the season for getting the final four outs in the game.
Taking the loss was Pena, who pitched well enough for the win had his offense been able to provide him some run support.
TAIPOWER 0, FALCONS 2
The Topco Scientific Falcons blanked Taipower at the Sinjhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City yesterday afternoon thanks to a stingy outing by the Falcons pitching staff.
Liu Yu-yen entered with one out and two on base in the top of the fourth and induced a double-play that ended the inning to deny the Power Crew a great scoring opportunity. He left with 2-2/3 innings of hitless relief to take home the win.
Offensively for the Falcons, Fong Chien-ting’s second-inning single with two on base to score the go-ahead run proved to be the difference in the game.
Also starring was slugger Chiang Chien-ming, who collected three hits to lead all hitters.
Taipower starter Shih Hung-chieh gave up two runs on seven hits in five innings in a losing cause, falling victim to an anemic offense, who failed to produce any runs on the five hits they mustered off Falcons starter Lin Wei-chih.
NSTC 4, COOPERATIVE BANK 10
Ho Yu-teh’s fielding error on a would-be inning-ending grounder broke a three-all tie for Taiwan Cooperative Bank in the bottom of the eighth as the Bankers went on to win against the National Sports Training Center (NSTC) in Tianmu last night.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care