Taiwan on Tuesday rallied past Japan to win their second Baseball5 Asia Cup title in Hong Kong, securing a berth in the World Baseball Softball Confederation Baseball5 World Cup.
Sung Mi-chia’s RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning of the final set sent infielder Chen Xuan-chen in for his third run of the set to win 5-4 at Discovery Park.
The final got off to a rocky start, with Japan pipping Taiwan 5-4 in the first set, which Taiwan led through the bottom of the fourth inning, with crucial RBIs from Sung, Chen and Hsu Wan-syuan for four runs.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association via CNA
However, Japan staged a comeback in the fifth inning, with a critical two-run double from Ayako Rokkaku that sent in Shota Kamimura and Shun Mikami, followed by an RBI single from Ayano Kazuta to tie the set.
In extra-innings, Rokkaku hit the go-ahead run for Mikami.
Taiwan took an early lead in the second set, with Chen and Sung again crossing home plate in the first inning. Kamimura scored in the third, but were held to 2-1.
In the final set, Japan took the lead from the first inning, with Rokkaku’s double RBI sending in Kamimura and Mikami. Chen scored in the same inning to half the lead, but Japan added two more runs in the second.
Down 4-1 in the third, Taiwan rallied with RBI singles from Chen Qiao-lin, Chen Xuan-chen and Sung Mi-chia to tie the set, before Sung’s clutch RBI single sent in Chen Xuan-chen for the final run of the game.
Taiwan earlier in the day advanced to the final by sweeping South Korea 11-0, 6-4 in the semi-finals, setting up a third consecutive Asian Cup final against Japan.
Taiwan beat Japan 2-1 in the final of the inaugural Baseball5 Asia Cup title in 2022 in Kuala Lumpur, while Japan survived Taiwan 2-1 in 2024 in Seoul.
The win for Taiwan, led by head coach Feng Wei-kuo, secured them a berth in the Baseball5 World Cup in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Dec. 9 to 13.
Baseball5 is a fast-paced, mixed-gender variation of baseball played with five players per side over five innings, usually in best-of-three sets, with batters hitting a rubber ball with their hands.
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