South Korea won the final of the first-ever World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier 12 competition last night, thumping the US 8-0.
The scoring in the decisive five-run fourth inning started with left fielder Kim Hyun-soo’s two-RBI double down the right-field line.
That made the score 4-0 after center fielder Lee Yong-yu’s double to left center brought second baseman Jeong Keun-woo home in the first and Lee scored after an initial Kim double in the third.
Photo: Reuters
Then, with men on second and third in the fifth frame, first baseman Park Byun-gho homered down the left-field line to make the lead seven and the game all but secure.
Starter Kim Kwang-hyun pitched five innings of four-hit ball, while the US’ Brooks Pounders took the brunt of the offense, giving up five runs on four hits over 1-2/3 innings.
The result was at odds with the teams’ rankings; the US entering the competition as world No. 2 and had a 3-2 win in their Pool B game at the Tianmu Baseball Stadium between the two sides, while South Korea were ranked No. 8.
Photo: AP
Earlier, also at the Tokyo Dome, Japan defeated Mexico in the third-place playoff, needing only seven innings in their 11-1 win.
After their painful semi-final loss to South Korea on Thursday, the hosts belted five home runs, with Shogo Akiyama’s two-run shot in the seventh ending the contest on the mercy rule.
Two home runs by Tetsuto Yamada and two-RBI homers by Sho Nakata and Nobuhiro Matsuda made the score 8-0 after only two innings.
Mexico’s only score came through Juan Perez, who hit a solo home run off Tomoyuki Sugano in the sixth.
Sugano was given the win for three innings of one-hit ball, while starter Shota Takeda had the same numbers, but without conceding a run.
However, Japan are likely to be rueing opportunities lost after leading all the way until the final inning in their semi-final, only to come unglued and have to watch South Korea’s demolition of the US.
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