Team Taiwan defeated Australia 3-0 yesterday in preliminary round matches at the 2004 Athens Olympic games, keeping Taiwan's hopes of entering the quarterfinals alive
Taiwan's second game in Athens was at the Olympic Baseball Center 2 in the Helliniko Sport Complex -- a very crude and rough stadium where fans have to suffer either scorching sunshine or strong wind, beginning at 10:30am.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Australia sent its best pitcher as the starter, John Stephens, who plays on the Red Sox's triple A team in the US, as starter while Taiwan began with Wang Chieh-ming (王建民), who plays in Yankees' triple A team.
Wang was obviously in great condition because his fastball reached 154kph and successfully struck out Australia's batters.
Compared to their poor batting performance in their 7-0 loss to Canada in their Athens debut, Taiwan's players got four hits off Stephens in the first three innings -- three singles, one double -- to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third inning, Chen Yung-chi (陳鏞基) scored the team's first run on a hit by Huang Chung-yi (黃忠義) and an error by Australia third baseman Glenn Williams. Chen Chih-yuan (陳致遠) scored the second run off a single by Peng Cheng-min (彭政閩).
Both teams were suppressed by pitchers from the fourth to the eighth innings.
Brett Roneberg hit a single in the sixth inning while Chen Yung-chi and Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒) hit singles in the fifth and sixth innings.
At the top of eighth inning, Chen Chih-yuan hit a single and stole second. Thanks to an error by center fielder Trent Oeltjen on a fly ball from Peng Cheng-min, Chen Chih-yuan scored Taiwan's third run.
Australia immediately replaced Stephens with Richard Thompson, who struck out Taiwan's best batter -- Chen Chin-feng.
Head coach Hsu Sheng-ming (徐生明) sent Tsao Chin-hui (曹錦輝), the country's most famous baseball player who now plays in the US major leagues for the Colorado Rockies, to serve as closer in the eighth inning.
Tsao easily controlled the final innings with his fastball. Taiwan had eight hits and two errors while Australia had five hits, one error.
Taiwan's team still has to face the Netherlands, Italy and Greece in the preliminary session.
"Team Cuba and Team Japan have both been defeated by team Taiwan before," said sport commentator Tseng Wen-cheng (曾文誠). "We only hope that Taiwan can enter the final four and revenge themselves against Canada."
The team lost their first game to Canada on Sunday due to poor defense -- four errors -- and poor batting -- only six hits.
"Actually there were a total of seven errors," said Tseng Wen-cheng, adding "Taiwan's athletes seemed to underestimate Canada's defense ability, and made inappropriate advances and were tagged out three times ... those should be regarded as another three errors."
"We were too nervous to mess up our morale," said Chang Chih-chia after the Canada match. "I am confident that I will win a game soon."
He was proved right yesterday.
Also see story:
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
RSS