Taiwan on Sunday defeated Japan 6-1 to clinch the nation’s first U-18 Asian Baseball Championship since 2007 in a rain-interrupted showdown at Taipei’s Tianmu Stadium.
Taiwan came from behind after shortstop Yusei Ishizuka’s RBI put Japan ahead 1-0 in the first inning.
In the top of the third inning, outfielder Ko Ching-hsien (柯敬賢) hit an RBI triple to left-center field to tie the game, before a sacrifice fly from Tseng Wei-che (曾偉喆) pulled Taiwan ahead 2-1.
Photo: CNA
In the top of the fifth, Ko, who signed to the Los Angeles Dodgers in June, hit a sacrifice fly to widen the gap to 3-1.
Taiwan added another three runs in the top of the sixth and seventh, giving them a healthy lead that they kept until the end.
Sunday’s championship game, interrupted twice due to on-and-off heavy rain, was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who lost 1-0 to Japan on Friday during the Super Round.
Photo: CNA
It was Taiwan’s only loss of the tournament, after they were undefeated in the opening round.
This year is the third time Taiwan has won the tournament, following victories in 2001 and 2007.
Taiwan, Japan and South Korea have dominated the tournament since its inception in 1994, with Japan and South Korea both winning five titles and Taiwan four.
Earlier on Sunday, South Korea crushed the Philippines 8-0 to finish third in the eight-team tournament, which also featured Pakistan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.
The top three finishers qualify for next year’s U-18 Baseball World Cup.
Meanwhile, at the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup in Shaoxing, China, Taiwan have not fared as well as their younger compatriots, facing potential elimination after losing their first three games in Group B of the opening round.
Taiwan on Sunday were pipped 4-3 by Nicaragua, after losing 7-5 to the Netherlands on Saturday and 3-1 to South Korea on Friday, the opening day of the tournament at Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Culture Center.
Taiwan last night were to play South Africa, who are also tied at the bottom of the group with three losses.
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday at the Presidential Office met with the national baseball teams competing in the Little League World Series, Junior League Baseball World Series and U-15 Baseball World Cup, who snatched gold, silver and bronze respectively.
“You strive for honor for yourselves and the country, and the country shines because of you,” Lai said, calling them “heroes of Taiwan.”
Lee Cheng-da (李政達), who coached the team that competed in the Little League World Series, always motivates players to be brave and fearless, to fight to the end, to believe in their teammates and to enjoy the game, Lai said, adding his warm and positive attitude has moved many and set an example for all baseball coaches working at grass-roots level.
Separately, the Executive Yuan yesterday held the first advisory meeting in preparation for the establishment of the Ministry of Sports and Sports Development, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) expressing the hope that it could be operational next year.
The Executive Yuan also announced the 48 members to serve on the advisory group, including boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷), retired tennis player Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳), retired badminton player Lee Yang (李洋), table tennis player Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵), judoka Lien Chen-ling (連珍羚), weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳), archer Lei Chien-ying (雷千瑩), soccer commentator Max Shih (石明謹), Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame chairman George Chao (趙士強) and e-sports player Bruce Hsiang (向玉麟).
Additional reporting by Chen Yun and CNA
RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
RESILIENCE: Once the system is operational, there would be no need to worry about the risks posed by disasters or other emergencies on communication systems, an official said Taiwan would have 24-hour access to low Earth orbit satellites by the end of this month through service provided by Eutelsat OneWeb as part of the nation’s effort to enhance signal resilience, a Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) official said yesterday. Earlier this year the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which partnered with Chunghwa Telecom on a two-year project to boost signal resilience throughout the nation, said it reached a milestone when it made contact with OneWeb’s satellites half of the time. It expects to have the capability to maintain constant contact with the satellites and have nationwide coverage by the end
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any
RSS