Chang “OEO” Tai-shan homered for the 11th time this year and Yuya Kamada overcame a shaky two-run first with six innings of shutout ball through the seventh as the Uni-President Lions went on to defeat the Brother Elephants in a 7-2 final at the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium in Tianmu last night to clinch the weekend series.
It marked the 15th straight season (16 overall) that the future hall-of-famer has picked up double-digit homers over an impressive 17-year career, giving him 266 long balls and counting, which is more than 100 more than the next hitter in line — Lin Chih-sheng of the Monkeys.
As for Kamada, the veteran righty from the land of the samurais was his usual self, despite serving up a pair of runs in an uncharacteristic three-hit first, as he cruised through the seventh with only two more hits allowed to give the Lions offense plenty of chances to get back into the game.
He was credited with his league-best 14th win of the year in another quality start.
The Elephants wasted little time getting on the board, with Chang Cheng-wei leading off the game with a clean single to left and scoring three batters later on an RBI single by Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min off Kamada.
The Brothers would score again in the same inning to spot starter Lin Yu-ching a 2-0 advantage which lasted less than two innings, as the Lions answered with Chang Tai-shan’s solo blast in the second to half the deficit and skidded ahead for good with a three-run third on the strength of three singles and a double.
The 4-2 lead for the Cats would remain through the sixth with neither offense able to score again, until the Lions came up big against Elephants reliever Guan Da-yuan in a three-run seventh to put the game away.
Bulls, Monkeys postponed
The match between the Sinon Bulls and the Lamigo Monkeys at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium was called off because of rainy weather.
That might have been the only thing that could stop the free-swinging Monkeys, who had gone 3-0 in this week’s play with an amazing 14.3 runs per game scoring average.
New Mark
Friday night’s contest against the Bulls saw the Primates set a new mark in single-game scoring, with 24 runs on the night in a 24-5 slaughter of the Bulls.
Chen Chin-fong went deep twice against the Sinon pitching to record his ninth career multi-homer outing, while four other Monkey hitters followed suit.
The four two-run home runs that the Monkeys blasted, in what ended up being an 11-run seventh, also set a new high for most two-run shots in an inning as the Monkeys hitters took turns teeing off against the Bulls pitching.
Skipper Liu Rong-hua went so deep into his pitching staff in an effort to stop the Lamigo hitters that even outfielder Yu Hsien-ming was called to the mound in the ninth to face the final two Monkeys hitters.
Yu was the eighth hurler that Liu sent in on a night the Monkeys pounded the ball so hard and so far that it made no difference who was pitching.
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
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
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