Thanks to the clutch hitting of tournament MVP Tung Cheng-hsuan, New Taipei City blew an otherwise close game wide open with nine runs in the fifth and sixth and held on to defeat Taoyuan 10-7 in the title game of the E.Sun Cup at Sinjhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City yesterday morning for their first title in twelve years.
Having been the victim of a bases-loaded strikeout against Taoyuan’s Chang Chao-sheng two days previously that led to an embarrassing 10-0 loss, New Taipei City slugger Tung made sure the second time around would be a charm as he drove an offering from Chang to deep left for a base-clearing three-run double to put New Taipei City ahead for good in the top of the fifth.
“I did go back and look at the video [of the earlier strikeout] a few times, so I was sitting on a high fastball all the way,” Tung said after the game.
He managed to put good wood on the ball the second time around to redeem himself.
Heading into the contest with a perfect 6-0 record in this year’s play and seemingly well on their way to their fifth straight title, Taoyuan drew first blood when Kao Yu-chieh went deep against New Taipei City starter Wu Cheng-yu for a solo home run in the bottom of the second.
After New Taipei City tied the game in the top of the third, they quickly fell behind again as the four-time defending champions struck for two more in the bottom of the third against Wu, forcing New Taipei City skipper Chou Tsung-chih to send his ace Chen Hu to rescue.
Fortunately for New Taipei City, Chen managed to cruise through to the eighth with just one run allowed and a 10-4 lead before having to pitch himself out of trouble in a three-run ninth by Taoyuan to keep the victory intact.
Three errors by the Taoyuan defense proved costly for the defending champions, as they allowed a tournament-high six runs in the sixth to dig a hole too deep for them to overcome.
Chen was credited with the win, while the loss was charged to Chang.
KAOHSIUNG 4, TAINAN 3
In the battle for third place earlier yesterday, Kaohsiung broke a three-all tie with the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth and held on to defeat Tainan 4-3.
Sheng Hao-wei’s timely single with a runner on was the difference in the game, as it bailed out Kaohsiung after squandering a 3-0 lead in the seventh to defeat their nemeses in the north by a narrow margin.
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