Taiwan on Thursday were placed joint second in the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup super-round standings after a 6-4 win over Japan in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Taiwan trailed Japan 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning following a two-run single off the bat of third baseman Rui Yanountil.
Japan’s starting pitcher Shintaro Sakamoto then kept Taiwan scoreless for the first four innings before he was replaced on the mound by reliever Haruto Kashiwazaki.
Photo: CNA
The pitching change proved disastrous for Japan, who went behind 4-2 after Kashiwazaki allowed first baseman Fu Chun-chih, second baseman Huang Yan-lun, right fielder Chiang Tsung-chun and left fielder Chu Kuan-yu to score in the top of the fifth inning.
Japan pulled a run back at the bottom of the inning, but Taiwan re-established their advantage in the sixth with runs from third baseman Wang Hsing-kai and Fu.
Taiwan were then able to restrict Japan to a single seventh-inning run to secure the win.
The victory was credited to Taiwan’s relief pitcher Huang Tien-szu, who kept the Japan batters at bay by pitching just over 3 innings and only giving up seven hits and two runs, with two strikeouts.
Taiwan — who have two games left to play in the super round — were tied for second place alongside Japan and the US.
The top two sides face each other in the tournament’s championship game, with third and fourth facing off in the bronze-medal match.
Cuba were top of the standings with a 3-0 record, while Panama and Puerto Rico were both 0-3.
Taiwan were next due to face the US at the Estadio Sonora.
The WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup started with 13 teams placed in three groups competing in a round-robin format. The top two teams of each group advanced to the super round.
The biennial tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2018, Taiwan finished third, behind the US and Panama.
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