In a battle between the two top-ranked teams in Group A, Japan’s pitchers shut down Taiwan’s batters to walk away with a 3-0 victory over the hosts at the 11th Baseball Federation of Asia Under-18 Championship in Taichung last night.
Japan sit atop Group A on two wins, with Taiwan in second place with a 1-1 record after they thrashed Indonesia 20-0 on the opening day of action on Tuesday.
Japan had a similar result in their first game, beating Hong Kong 19-0.
South Korea are top of Group B with two wins from two outings, prevailing over China 3-1 yesterday and clobbering the Philippines 14-0 on the opening day.
In other results, China started well by blanking Thailand 11-0 on Tuesday, while Hong Kong sailed past Indonesia with an 11-1 triumph yesterday.
In Taiwan’s opener, power hitters Chen Hu and Chiu Ta-yu each clubbed a home run to help starting pitcher Fang Chao-tse pick up the win against Indonesia.
The gap between the hosts and baseball minnows Indonesia was evident when in the first inning Taiwan sent 15 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs on five hits, aided by walks and two opposition errors, with the outcome beyond doubt at that point.
With the tournament hosted by Taiwan and organized by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association, home fans and sports officials hope to claim the trophy, but Taiwan face stern tests from the main regional rivals of Japan and South Korea.
Taiwan head coach Chen Ming-tang said at the opening ceremony: “I want to apologize first to the other teams, but the championship trophy will stay in Taiwan.”
However, he might come to regret his overconfidence, as Japan defeated the hosts last night and Taiwan are likely to face South Korea in the playoffs.
If they can win their semi-final, the home side will most likely face the powerful Japan in the final.
TODAY’S GAMES
In today’s round-robin games, Group B sees China and the Philippines face off in the noon time slot, while the 6:30pm game features South Korea against Thailand at the National Taiwan University of Sport baseball ground.
In Group A, Japan face Indonesia in the afternoon contest, while Taiwan are to play Hong Kong in the evening at Taichung’s Intercontinental Stadium.
The business-end of the tournament gets started tomorrow, with playoffs between the top-two finishers from the each group.
As the top-ranked teams in youth baseball in this part of the world, two teams out of Taiwan, Japan and South Korea are expected to vie for the title in Sunday’s final.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS