Wang Po-jun’s two-run triple with two outs in the bottom of the seventh turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 lead as Taiwan rallied from behind with seven unanswered runs to defeat South Korea 7-1 in the preliminary round of the Under-21 IBAF World Cup tournament at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium last night.
Having gone hitless in the first two games of the tournament, Wang was in desperate need of a hit to jumpstart his normally productive bat.
And that was exactly what the junior outfielder from Taipei’s Chinese Culture University got as he drilled an offering from South Korea starting pitcher Lim Ki-jun deep into the left-center gap with runners on second and third to score the game-turning runs.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
His continued success will play a key role for the hosts, who clinched a berth in the upcoming Super Round Robin with a perfect 3-0 record.
The highly anticipated showdown between the two title contenders was a classic pitchers’ duel in a scoreless tie through the sixth, with Taiwan starter Kuo Chun-lin tossing three-hit ball and his counterpart Lim throwing a two-hitter.
However, the visitors skidded ahead in the top of the seventh when Kim Jun-hyun reached second on a fielder’s choice off Kuo and scored on Kim Dae-kwen’s RBI single on the ensuing play.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
South Korea’s lead lasted less than an inning as Taiwan rallied for four in the seventh and added another three runs in the eighth on the merit of a three-run home run by Su Chih-chieh to seal the deal.
Kuo was credited with the win for his seven effective innings of play, while the loss was charged to South Korea’s Lim.
Taiwan is to play New Zealand tonight with the opening pitch scheduled for 6:30pm at the Intercontinental.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
In other Group A results yesterday, New Zealand beat the Czech Republic 6-5 and Italy downed Mexico 5-1, while in Group B, Nicaragua beat Australia 3-2 and Japan defeated the Netherlands 7-2.
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