Taiwan scored a 11-7 victory over Italy in their World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool A battle last night.
The hosts got on the scoreboard first at the Taichung Intercontinental Stadium when former Boston Red Sox player Lin Tzu-wei (林子偉) belted a solo homer off Italy starting pitcher Ryan Castellani over the right-field wall in the opening frame.
In the top of the second, Italy got consecutive hits against Taiwan starter Chiang Shao-ching (江少慶) to put men at the corners.
Photo: CNA
Italy put on a squeeze bunt by Nicky Lopez, pushing home the runner from third base and the next batter, Ben DeLuzio, ripped one to deep left field for an RBI triple, putting Italy ahead 2-1.
Taiwan replied with an RBI single by Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲).
Pitch count limits forced both teams to replace their starters in the third, with Chiang giving way to lefty Wang Wei-chung (王維中) and Castellani replaced by former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Joe Biagini.
Photo: EPA
Taiwan's batters turned on the heat, getting four hits off Biagini to chalk up two more runs and adding another against Stephen Woods Jr to make it 5-2 in the bottom of the third frame.
However, Wang also ran into trouble, with Italy rallying on RBI hits by Lopez, Miles Mastrobuoni and Sal Frelik to grab a 6-5 lead.
Italy's standout player Lopez got his third RBI of the game against Taiwan's fourth pitcher, Chen Yu-hsun (陳禹勳), padding their lead at 7-5 in the fifth inning.
Yu Chang (張育成) smashed a two-run homer in the sixth inning to make it 7-7 and Taiwan went ahead for good in the eighth after pinch-hitter Fan Kuo-cheng (范國宸) slapped a bouncer for an infield single, sending a runner home from third base.
The hosts cranked up the firepower for some late-innings heroics. Taiwan had two runners on through a walk and a single in the eighth when catcher Giljegiljaw Kungkuan drilled a shot over the center-field wall for a three-run homer, sparking celebrations in the packed stands.
Closer Sung Chia-hao (宋家豪), a member of Japan's Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, got two ground-outs before Italy's Brett Sullivan got on base with a single.
However, Sung struck out Robel Garcia for the final out to preserve the 11-7 lead and nailed down a hard-fought win.
In the earlier Pool A game at the Taichung Stadium, Cuba routed Panama 13-4.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS