Taiwan yesterday beat the Philippines in the Little League Baseball (LLB) Junior League Asia-Pacific Regional final in Manila, booking their place in the Junior League World Series next month.
The Junior League tournament is for young players aged 13 to 15.
Taiwan got off to a slow start, trailing 1-2 after the second inning.
However, the team from Hsin Ming Junior High School in Taoyuan quickly recovered and scored runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings to win the game 7-2.
Taiwan head coach Huang Wei-chih said his young players managed to come back strong.
“I told them to remain calm and only swing at pitches they felt comfortable with,” Huang said.
Taiwan advanced to the finals after defeating the Northern Mariana Islands 10-0 on Wednesday.
Taiwan are now to compete in the World Series from Aug. 12 to 19 in Taylor, Michigan.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s 10-to-12-year-old team yesterday beat Guam 6-0 in the semi-finals of the LLB Asia-Pacific Regional in Seoul.
Taiwan made one run in each of the first, second and fifth innings, and three runs in the sixth inning.
Throughout the six innings, Taiwan pitcher Lin Wei-en only allowed one hit and finished the game with 10 strikeouts.
The team, which hails from Guishan Elementary School in Taoyuan, has been on a winning streak since the tournament began on Saturday last week.
Taiwan defeated New Zealand 10-0 on the first day, then went on to rout Hong Kong (19-5), Thailand (23-0) and the Philippines (27-0) on each of the subsequent days.
The other teams in the tournament are China, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Indonesia and South Korea, who are in Pool A.
In the finals today, Taiwan are to play the winner of yesterday’s game between South Korea and Hong Kong.
The champions are to advance to the LLB World Series, which is to be held from Aug. 16 to 26 in Pennsylvania.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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