Taiwan last night dominated Germany 13-2 on the third day of the U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan, in their third consecutive win.
Taiwan opened their assault early racking up eight runs in the first inning and grabbing another three in the second, with pitcher Chen Chang-Ruei striking out the first three hitters in the bottom of the second to secure their lead.
Lo Yu-yen and Chen also scored in the fourth inning to stretch the lead to 13-1.
Photo courtesy of the World Baseball Softball Confederation via CNA
Thomas Hopfensperger scored Germany’s lone runs of the game, with one each in the first and fifth innings.
Taiwan are tied at the top of the Group A standings with Venezuela, while South Korea were leading with three straight wins atop of Group B.
It was unlikely that the US would join them, as despite their two earlier wins, they were down 13-5 to the Dominican Republic in the top of the sixth inning as of press time last night.
On Sunday, Taiwan won their second straight game with a 5-3 victory over Mexico with starting pitcher Gau Sheng-kai shining on the mound and at the plate.
Gau went three innings and gave up a run on only one hit while striking out three to keep the game close, as Taiwan threatened but failed to score.
Taiwan pulled even in the top of the fourth, when first baseman Chiu Ya-en singled, sacrificed to second and scored on a hard chopper by second baseman Wang Sheng-rang.
Taiwan opened the game in the top of the fifth inning, when Gau smashed the team’s first home run of the World Cup, a two-run blast that put his team up 3-1.
Mexican catcher Max Ortega answered with a homer off Taiwan’s third pitcher, Lin Ting-wei, in the bottom half of the inning to pull within a run, heading into the final inning.
Taiwan gave themselves a cushion in the sixth with a two-run rally on hits by catcher Wang Yu-hsiang and shortstop Luo Hao-han that left them on second and third, and a bunt single by outfielder Zheng Qi-en that sent both runners into home.
Mexico added a run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, before heavy rain suspended the game at 5:05pm.
Following a 2 hour, 40 minute delay, play resumed at 7:45pm and Taiwanese pitcher Lin Pin-yu retired Ortega on three pitches to close out the game.
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried