Hsinchu City scrapped their way into the second round of the E.Sun Cup by topping Chiayi County 4-1 in the final game of the losers’ bracket in Group A at National Taiwan University of Physical Education and Sport in Taichung yesterday afternoon.
The rain-shortened affair which went the minimum five innings following a three-hour delay saw the victors strike the first blow in the bottom of the first inning when starter Chuang Wei-en helped his own cause by leading off the game with a single and scoring on a double by Yang Yi-ming to spot himself a quick 1-0 advantage.
Hsinchu added to their lead an inning later when Chuang connected for his second hit of the game to drive in their second run, before Hsieh Po-ya’s two-run double made it 4-0 in the bottom of the second inning.
Following a 40-minute rain delay that might have affected Chuang’s throwing arm, Chiayi County finally strung together three two-out hits in the top of the third to score their first run of the game.
That was the lone run Chiayi plated against Chuang, who managed to pitch out of trouble by stranding all by one of seven runners who reached safely against him for what ended up being a complete-game victory.
All eight qualifiers for the second round have today off to travel north where they are to play a three-game round in which the top four finishers are to move on to Friday’s semi-finals and play for the right for a spot in Saturday’s title game.
The winners of the tournament earn the right to represent Taiwan in the Under-18 Baseball World Cup in Osaka, Japan, in August and September.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB