Taiwan on Tuesday beat Japan 9-2 to clinch the top spot in their preliminary group and advance to the next round of the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Sarasota, Florida.
Taiwan were led by starting pitcher Lin Shen-en, who gave up only one run on three hits in five innings, and second baseman Cheng Chun-wei, who drove in five runs with a double and triple in the early innings.
The win gave Taiwan a 4-0 record in Group B, putting them ahead of Japan, who were 4-1. Taiwan were yesterday to play Panama.
Photo courtesy of the CTBA via CNA
Taiwan would likely have a 2-0 record at the start of the six-team super round by virtue of carrying over Group B victories against Japan and Mexico, who are also poised to advance.
In the super round, Taiwan, Japan and Mexico are to play against the top three teams from Group A, likely to be the US, South Korea and the Netherlands.
The two teams with the best round-robin record would vie for the World Cup title.
Taiwan had earlier beaten Italy 2-1, Australia 13-2 and Mexico 4-0.
Taiwan put Tuesday’s game away in the first three innings. While Lin shut down batters, Cheng sparked four-run rallies in consecutive innings to give Taiwan a comfortable 8-0 edge.
In the second inning, Taiwan loaded the bases on a single and two walks, which Cheng cleared with a two-out triple, before being driven home on a base hit by left fielder Chiu Hsin.
An inning later, center fielder Lin Chia-wei drove in a run with a single, and an error by Japan gifted Taiwan another run.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Cheng knocked in two more runs with a double down the left-field line.
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