Taiwan recovered from a shock loss in their previous game at the Taipei Summer Universiade as starting pitcher Chen Ming-hsuan tossed a gem yesterday to shut out the Czech Republic 11-0 at the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium.
Chen baffled the opposition, giving up only one hit while picking up 11 strikeouts through six frames, before Wu Cheng-yu relieved him in the seventh.
The hosts had an improved offensive output, compared with a weak effort against France on Sunday, cranking out 16 hits to wrap up the game at the end of seventh inning on the 10-run mercy rule.
Photo: EPA
Taiwan rocked Czech starting pitcher Jan Vasourek in the opening frame, with the batters delivering six hits, along with one walk and one sacrifice fly, to push five runs home.
The most damage was by second baseman Wu Chieh-jui, who ripped a triple to drive in two men.
Two innings later, Taiwan scored four more runs to go ahead 9-0, making the result almost certain.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
In the sixth frame, they added two more runs.
With Chen on the mound mixing up the pitches, the Czech players had difficulty even getting a runner on base.
The result set up a showdown against South Korea today, with Taiwan needing a win to advance to the next round.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
In other games, South Korea defeated France 12-0, Japan downed Mexico 7-2 and the US beat Russia 10-6.
In women’s soccer, it was another grudge match between Taiwan and South Korea, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
It was an exciting encounter with the visitors scoring in the first half and Taiwan trying desperately to find an equalizer through rest of the game amid boisterous support from local fans at Fu Jen Catholic University field.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
In the 38th minute, South Korea pushed forward in numbers and floated a cross from the right side that striker Son Hwa-yeon connected with after evading her marker, getting high enough for a glancing header that went past Taiwan goalkeeper Chu Fang-yi into the net.
As if energized by falling behind, Taiwan rallied, making repeated forays into the opposition box, but missed out on several chances.
The fans shouted their encouragement, but the players could not score, with their shots going wide or denied by South Korea goalkeeper Min Yu-kyeong.
It was not until the 89th minute that Taiwan scored. They swarmed the goalmouth on a corner kick an captain Yu Hsiu-chin tapped home from close range as the visiting coaching staff remonstrated with the referees, contesting calls.
In other results, Mexico blanked Canada 2-0, Brazil powered past Japan 3-1, Russia edged the UK 2-1 and the US prevailed over Argentina 1-0.
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