The 2008 Red Leaf Cup International Little League Baseball Invitational Tournament concluded on Wednesday after five days of competition, with the Fengnien Elementary School team from Taitung City crowned as champions.
Fengnien beat Fuyuan Elementary School from Ruisui Township in Hualien County 5-2 in the final, while a team from Jhongsiao Elementary School in Chengkung Township, Taitung County, defeated a South Korean team from Seongham, near Seoul, to win third place.
The tournament, which used a straight knockout format, took place at four baseball diamonds in Taitung County, with 34 teams taking part — four from South Korea, 11 from Taitung County and 19 from other Taiwanese cities and counties.
PHOTO: CNA
The annual international tournament was founded in 2005 by the Taitung County Sports Development Fund to commemorate the spirit of the Hongye (“red leaf”) Little League team from its namesake elementary school that made history in 1968 by defeating a Little League world champion.
During that match the Aboriginal schoolboys trounced the Little League world champions — Japan’s Wakayama. The nationwide excitement the victory aroused helped turn baseball into Taiwan’s national sport and set the stage for Taiwanese teams to win 13 World Little League championships between 1969 and 1982.
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