The EDA Rhinos exploded for seven runs in another late charge to crush the Brothers Baseball Club 10-1, tying the CPBL Taiwan Series at 2-2 at the Taoyuan International Stadium last night.
In an audacious decision, EDA head coach Yeh Chun-chang started rookie Huang Yi-chih on the mound in a face-off against Brothers righthander Bryan Woodall of the US.
The gamble paid off for EDA as the rookie proved his worth, turning the contest into a pitching duel after early jitters in the opening frame.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The Brothers offense scored a run on two hits and a walk in their first inning, taking a 1-0 lead after the first frame.
Helped by outstanding defense, Huang settled down and sailed through through to the fifth frame.
EDA catcher Lin Kun-sheng gave his starting pitcher run support, when with a man on second base he hit a bouncer up the middle, scoring a run to equalize in the second.
Huang and Woodall kept each side in the game by holding the opposition in check, and it remained a tight affair until the top of the sixth, when EDA replaced the tiring Huang with lefty set-up man Lai Hung-cheng.
In the bottom half of that inning, EDA pushed another run against Woodall, when with two men on, Chen Kai-lun slapped a grounder to the right side.
It was a potential double-play for the Brothers infield, but shortstop Wang Sheng-wei made a wayward throw to first base, which allowed the runner from third to score and the Rhinos to go in front 2-1.
As they have done in games 1 and 3, the Rhinos ramped up the pressure with a late charge, taking advantage of shaky Brothers’ relievers to open up the floodgates in the seventh inning.
They batted around the order to pile on seven hits, three steals and two walks, with the bottom of the batting order — sixth to ninth — all coming through with RBI hits to sustain the prolonged rally, pushing seven runners home.
EDA ran out to a 9-1 lead.
Slugger Lin Yi-chuan drove in anther run in the eighth to make the final score 10-1, before lefty closer Ni Fu-teh shut the door with the final three outs.
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