The top-ranked Uni-President Lions swept the day-night doubleheader against the Sinon Bulls yesterday with victories by margins of 9-2 and 10-3 at the Sinjhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City.
Chang “OEO” Tai-shan’s sacrifice fly sparked a three-run seventh that blew a 3-1 game wide open in the day game as the defending champs scored six in the late innings to pick up the win.
Fu Yu-kang came out of the Lions bullpen and tossed 4-2/3 innings of one-run ball on three hits to beat Sinon starter Lin Yen-fong, who fared well with three allowed runs through the fifth, but fell victim to an anemic offense that came up short compared with Uni-President.
In the second game, it was all Lions from the get-go, as the Cats plated three in the opening frame on a pair of singles and doubles off Sinon starter Chang Geng-hao, to give Uni-President starter Yuya Kamada a quick 3-0 advantage before the Japanese right-hander even threw his first pitch.
Kamada acknowledged the generosity from his offense by pitching shutout ball through the fifth before giving up a two-run homer to the Bulls’ Chang Jien-ming to make it 5-2 through the top of the sixth.
That was as close as the Bulls got as the Lions’ bats answered with a four-run output in the bottom of the same inning.
Leadoff man Chen Yung-chi had a huge day at the plate with two homers to his credit; the first, a two-run blast off Chang Geng-hao to dead center; and the second, a solo shot off Hsu Wen-tsan to left to lead off the eighth.
Picking up his league-best fifth win of the season was Kamada, who allowed three runs on nine hits over seven innings to go to 5-0, while the loss was charged against Chang Geng-hao as the Sinon right-hander evened his season mark to 1-1.
ELEPHANTS 5, MONKEYS 1
The Brother Elephants avenged a tough loss on Friday in a rain-delayed affair with a win over the Lamigo Monkeys last night at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium.
Rookie phenom Lin Yu-ching was rock-solid for the Elephants as he kept the potent Monkeys lineup at bay with a four-hit gem over eight innings to allow his slow-warming offense a chance for a three-run sixth that broke a 1-all tie.
Taking the loss was Monkeys starter Matt DeSalvo of the US, who matched Lin stride-for-stride through the fifth before a fatal error by his defense led to a pair of unearned runs in the game-deciding sixth inning.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
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