Taiwan’s Kuei-Shan are ready to make another run through the bracket at the Little League World Series (LLWS), only this time they are hoping for a happier ending.
The team from Taoyuan who traveled to South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, last year with the hardest-throwing pitcher and left with third place are back, again under the leadership of manager Lee Cheng-ta, but the roster is drastically different.
There are no returning players, none, but that is not a worry for Lee.
Photo: AP
“There’s no one ace for the team and everyone is contributing,” Lee said through an interpreter.
Wanting to follow in the footsteps of last year’s team, Kuei-Shan have trained hard to make another trip to the tournament that opened this morning Taiwan time with four games scheduled, including the Taiwanese side against a Canadian side.
Kuei-Shan last year outscored their three opponents 25-1 headed into championship weekend, thanks in large part to pitching ace Fan Chen-jun, but they got only one hit in a 2-0 loss to Curacao in the semi-finals to end Taiwan’s hopes of winning a first LLWS title since 1996.
Prior to last year, Kuei-Shan made it to South Williamsport two other times — in 2009, when the team lost in the title game to California and in 2012. Lee has been part of the team for all of it, yet the current roster is the smartest team he has ever taught, he said.
“Because of their smartness, they’re able to conquer a lot of weaknesses that their physical strength cannot cover,” he said.
In the Asia-Pacific regional tournament, Kuei-Shan went 5-1. Eight teams competed over a week for a spot in the LLWS tournament.
Kuei-Shan lost to a South Korean side 13-3, but met them again in the regional final, where the Taiwanese won 3-0 at the beginning of last month.
“This team is very good defensively, [errors] are very rare,” Lee said. “As long as they can uphold that defensive game, they usually come up pretty well.”
Offensively, the team has also put up strong numbers. All of their other regional tournament wins were won by at least 10 runs and as much as 20.
There is no indoor facility in which the team can practice in Taoyuan and last month there was a lot of rain, which limited the team’s preparation before traveling to the US.
The winner of the Taiwan v Canada game are to face an Australian side, who received an opening-round bye. The loser falls into the elimination bracket.
“Because it’s a different team, it’s so difficult to get here,” Lee said. “Either win or lose, enjoy the road to Williamsport, and hopefully the kids have the best memory in Williamsport.”
The international side of the draw also features the second tournament appearance of Cuba, represented by Santa Clara from Villa Clara. In their first appearance last year, Cuba dropped two games and an assistant coach disappeared from the team.
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