Taiwan on Saturday clinched a hard-earned extra-inning victory over Panama to advance to yesterday’s bronze medal game of the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Taiwan manager Tseng Wei-cheng credited the 5-4 win to Taiwan’s pitchers for limiting Panama’s offense in the super-round game.
Although he acknowledged that Taiwan’s offense was relatively sluggish with only five hits in seven innings, Tseng praised their timely hits in the extra inning and pitcher Yang Shan-tung’s performance in closing the game.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association via CNA
“Our offense is warming up and players are now having more stable outings as we get deeper into the tournament. We are eyeing the bronze medal tomorrow,” Tseng told reporters.
The game was tied 3-3 at the conclusion of the seventh inning, sending the teams into an extra inning to determine a winner.
In the top of the eighth, two consecutive hits by Huang Tien-ssu and Ku Ting-hsuan gave Taiwan one run to break the deadlock before an RBI sacrifice fly by Wang Hsing-kai widened the lead to 5-3.
In the bottom of the inning, Yang gave up one run on an RBI single fly, but kept his cool for the last Panama batter to exit on a ground out to seal the victory, earning Taiwan a fourth place finish in the super round with a 3-2 record.
In other super round action on Saturday, Japan beat Puerto Rico 9-1, setting Japan up for a bronze medal game against Taiwan. Cuba and the US were yesterday to play for the title.
The U-15 Baseball World Cup started with 13 teams in three groups competing in a round-robin format.
The top two teams of each group advanced to the Super Round, while the other seven national teams will compete to round out the final seven places.
The biennial tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2018, Taiwan finished third, behind the US and Panama.
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the French Open, after she and German partner Mark Wallner defeated Slovenian Andreja Klepac and Briton Lloyd Glasspool in straight sets, despite temperatures exceeding 32°C in Paris, while Taiwan’s top men’s doubles player Ray Ho also reached the second round. Hsieh, who made it to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2024, and Wallner defeated Klepac and Glasspool 6-3, 7-5 in just more than an hour, converting three of five break points, while holding their opponents to just one conversion
FAST AND LOOSE: Despite command struggles, Ohtani has pitched his way out of trouble after falling behind in counts, which manager Roberts credited to his velocity Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday night tossed six innings of no-hit ball, gave himself an early lead with a home run and still was not satisfied with his performance. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar dropped some expletives that were picked up by the on-field mic as he struggled with his command in a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. He struck out seven, walked four and gave up an earned run in the fourth inning while visibly fuming on the mound. Ohtani (5-2) earned his third consecutive victory. “Just command was off, and I just felt like I was battling the lack of
Taiwanese sprinter Chen Yi-cen on Friday won the silver medal in the women’s 400m final at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, with a time of 53.16 seconds. Chen, 15, was the youngest among the eight finalists, and her performance also met the qualifying standard of 53.50 seconds for the Nagoya Asian Games in Japan in September and October. Chen first made her mark at the National Games in Tainan in 2023, at the age of 13, winning the women’s 400m final in 55.55 seconds to become the youngest gold medalist in the history of the event. Meanwhile,
RSS