Mexico and the US hammered their opponents yesterday to pick up their third wins in as many games and remained the group leaders at the U12 Baseball World Cup tournament in Tainan.
Taiwan and Japan are to get an opportunity to challenge for a top place in Group A on Wednesday after their game was rained out yesterday.
Mexican pitchers Emmanuel Segura and Carlos Fornue combined for an 18-3 victory over the Czech Republic, with the game called after four innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Segura yielded three runs in the second frame, enjoying plenty of run support against Mexico, to top Group A with a perfect 3-0 record.
The US trounced South Korea 27-6 in an afternoon contest at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium.
The US team pounded the South Korean pitchers into submission, racking up 13 walks and 16 hits on three doubles, one triple and three home runs.
There was no score in the opening frame, but then US players exploded to score 10 runs in the next frame, five in the third inning and 12 in the forth, for the comprehensive rout.
South Korea used seven pitchers, but could not contain the US team. The game was also called after four innings on the mercy rule.
The US remain undefeated with a 3-0 record and took first place in Group B, with Nicaragua and Panama in second and third respectively.
In the battle between the central American powerhouse teams, Nicaragua downed Panama 10-2 yesterday, leapfrogging into second place with a 2-1 record.
The other Group B game saw Australia defeating Germany 9-1, giving Australia and South Korea one win and two losses each, putting them in fourth and fifth yesterday, with Germany yet to win after three games.
Three Brazil pitchers combined to shut out South Africa 10-0 in the Group A contest, with the South Americans grabbing their first win in the tournament.
On Saturday, Taiwan blanked South Africa 18-0, and the US held off their opponents in a 10-0 romp, while Mexico edged Japan 6-5 in a closely fought game.
The tournament is under the aegis of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, formerly known as the International Baseball Federation, the world governing body for the sport.
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