New Taipei City yesterday defeated Kaohsiung 7-4 in a rain-delayed game at Sinjhuang Stadium to claim the E.Sun Cup, the annual youth baseball competition for the nation’s top high-school teams that also serves as selection for the nation’s U18 squad.
Due to periodic rain showers in northern Taiwan yesterday, a scheduled game to determine third and fourth places could not take place, and officials announced that Tainan and Hsinchu City were joint winners and awarded the bronze medal to both teams.
The championship final was suspended in the late afternoon due to rain, with hosts New Taipei City ahead 2-1 after two frames.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
When play resumed after more than two hours, the hosts piled on three more runs in the third inning.
In the sixth frame, Kaohsiung pushed two men home on two hits, a ground-out and a wild pitch to narrow the gap to 5-3.
However, Kaohsiung would not get any closer, as both sides traded runs in the late innings for the 7-4 result.
New Taipei City starter Wan Chao-ching (萬昭清) was credited with the win after pitching through five innings and yielding two earned runs on six hits, while also hitting two when at bat.
The hosts had ace pitcher Chen Hu (陳琥) pitch the final four innings, preserving the win by only giving up one unearned run on three hits.
It was the second straight E.Sun Cup title for New Taipei City, while Chen was voted Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
“The pitchers for Kaohsiung had control problems, so we took advantage and got one run at a time. We slowly built up our lead and they made errors, so it got more difficult for them to catch up,” New Taipei City head coach Tsai Ming-tang (蔡明堂) said. “Wan and Chen did a good job today, they deserve a lot of praise for this victory.”
On Sunday, New Taipei City were behind 0-2 going into the ninth inning against Tainan when they mounted a dramatic comeback. Rallying on two long hits and two walks in their last turn at bat, New Taipei City scored three runs and seized a 3-2 victory to advance to the final.
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