The US established a place at the top of Group B at the Under-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan yesterday with a 21-6 trouncing of Japan, while Taiwan lost a tight battle against Venezuela.
The tournament, with mainly grade six students competing, commenced on Friday with an opening ceremony at Tainan’s new Asia-Pacific International Stadium.
There were four games on Friday, with wins for the hosts, 4-3 over Panama, as well as the US, Mexico and Venezuela.
Photo: CNA
Japan’s opening-day game against the Dominican Republic was rescheduled to Wednesday, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) organizers also making other adjustments. The organizers did not give a reason for the changes.
In the US-Japan game, the US jumped to a three-run lead in the first inning, but Japan rallied and it was a tight affair with the US ahead 7-6 after the fourth frame.
However, the US youngsters blew it open in the sixth inning, piling on 14 runs on two homers, with Ramon Carlin’s grand slam doing the most damage.
Japan had some uncharacteristic shaky pitching and fielding, committing six errors as the US went atop Group B after drubbing the Czech Republic 24-0 with eight home runs a day earlier.
In yesterday’s other contests, Mexico catcher Jonathan Beltran slapped a clutch single in the final at-bat for a 2-1 walk-off win over Panama, while Italy overwhelmed South Africa 15-0 and South Korea clobbered the Czech Republic 14-0.
In last night’s late game, Venezuela won 10-8 against Taiwan after things were locked up at 5-5 a frame earlier.
At the opening ceremony, WBSC executive director Michael Schmidt welcomed the international presence at this sixth U-12 World Cup on behalf of confederation president Riccardo Fraccari.
“It is always great to be back in Tainan, the only city in the world with a dedicated stadium built to host a WBSC World Cup, which provides a unique and unforgettable experience for all the teams and players who will compete,” Schmidt said.
“This is the first major international sports competition hosted in Taiwan since the COVID-19 pandemic hit many countries around the world,” Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che said. “We welcome the young players from 11 countries here for this important baseball event.”
Huang said that he and his staff had prepared snack boxes with tie-ins to Tainan’s history and cultural attractions.
Tainan has many temples and the deities will bless the players to do their best “and to have good memories of your experience here in Taiwan,” he said.
Baseball Federation of Asia president Jeffrey Koo Jr spoke of his experience as a child being sent from Taiwan to school in Japan.
“I went to play baseball with my classmates and hit a home run in my first at-bat,” Koo said. “It was the first time I felt like I belonged in something.”
Koo encouraged Taiwan’s players, saying: “I want you to understand that you are here to compete with the world’s best.”
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