South Korea won the final of the first-ever World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier 12 competition last night, thumping the US 8-0.
The scoring in the decisive five-run fourth inning started with left fielder Kim Hyun-soo’s two-RBI double down the right-field line.
That made the score 4-0 after center fielder Lee Yong-yu’s double to left center brought second baseman Jeong Keun-woo home in the first and Lee scored after an initial Kim double in the third.
Photo: Reuters
Then, with men on second and third in the fifth frame, first baseman Park Byun-gho homered down the left-field line to make the lead seven and the game all but secure.
Starter Kim Kwang-hyun pitched five innings of four-hit ball, while the US’ Brooks Pounders took the brunt of the offense, giving up five runs on four hits over 1-2/3 innings.
The result was at odds with the teams’ rankings; the US entering the competition as world No. 2 and had a 3-2 win in their Pool B game at the Tianmu Baseball Stadium between the two sides, while South Korea were ranked No. 8.
Photo: AP
Earlier, also at the Tokyo Dome, Japan defeated Mexico in the third-place playoff, needing only seven innings in their 11-1 win.
After their painful semi-final loss to South Korea on Thursday, the hosts belted five home runs, with Shogo Akiyama’s two-run shot in the seventh ending the contest on the mercy rule.
Two home runs by Tetsuto Yamada and two-RBI homers by Sho Nakata and Nobuhiro Matsuda made the score 8-0 after only two innings.
Mexico’s only score came through Juan Perez, who hit a solo home run off Tomoyuki Sugano in the sixth.
Sugano was given the win for three innings of one-hit ball, while starter Shota Takeda had the same numbers, but without conceding a run.
However, Japan are likely to be rueing opportunities lost after leading all the way until the final inning in their semi-final, only to come unglued and have to watch South Korea’s demolition of the US.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS