Ku Pao Commercial High School tasted sweet revenge when they defeated northern rivals Taoyuan Agricultural and Industrial High School 4-2 at Taipei’s Tienmu Stadium on Sunday to claim the “Black Panther Banner” crown.
In the finale of the nation’s high-school baseball championship, Ku Pao fought a tough battle against their opponents, with the score tied at 2-2 going into the ninth inning.
However, Ku Pao righthander Chen Hu put his team on the road to victory when, after his side had rallied on two hits to put two runners on base in the top of the ninth, Chen smashed an RBI-single for the go-ahead run.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Then, with men at the corners, Taoyuan pitcher Cheng Hao-chin tossed a wild pitch that let another runner to come home to put Ku Pao ahead 4-2.
The versatile Chen was also a relief pitcher, as he slammed the door on Taoyuan in the bottom of the ninth by getting the final three outs for the victory.
Ku Pao, a perennial Sanchong District baseball powerhouse, savored the win all the more as they were knocked out by Taoyuan in last year’s semi-final.
“We faced a very tough team today and it was an exciting and very close game. We had to get clutch hits in the end to win it,” Ku Pao head coach Tsai Ming-tang said after the game.
“Chen Hu drove in the crucial go-ahead run and came in to pitch the last four innings to hold the opponents scoreless. Chen is definitely the hero of the day,” he added.
On Saturday, defending champions Ping Jen High School of Taoyuan County claimed third place after crushing Kao Yuan Vocational High from Pingtung City 8-4.
Baseball officials and pundits hailed the tournament’s success, which saw the number of participating schools rise to 137 this year, up from 51 in the inaugural event last year.
Due to the enthusiastic participation of high-school teams nationwide and good media coverage, officials said they expect more than 200 schools to participate next year.
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