Although Taiwan lost the their Little League World Series semi-final to Curacao, the team from Taoyuan’s Guishan Elementary School did win the tournament’s sportsmanship award.
Jay-Dlynn Wiel and Nasir El-Ossais on Saturday got back-to-back singles off Taiwan ace Fan Chen-jun and later scored, leading Curacao to a 2-0 win in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Taiwan, representing the Asia-Pacific, came into the game having outscored their opponents 25-1 in its three previous outings at the tournament, but Curacao — which lost 9-1 to Taiwan on Wednesday — kept the Taiwan bats quiet until the Caribbean team broke through.
Photo: AP
“I’m very proud of these guys,” Curacao manager Zaino Everett said. “When you put the ball in play, you are going to put some runs on the board. Here we are, international champs.”
Fan came in for the bottom of the fourth to face Curacao’s top of the lineup. Fan had not allowed a hit all tournament, but Wiel hit a hard grounder into left field and El-Ossais followed with a single to right.
After a steal from Wiel, Curacao had runners at first and third when Joshua Acosta Fernandez laid down a bunt. The bunt had Fan, third baseman Liu You-an and catcher Chen Kai-sheng confused about who was covering home and who was taking the ball. Liu took the ball and overthrew Chen, allowing Wiel to score.
Chen threw the ball back to Fan, but it was another overthrow and El-Ossais scored from first, making it 2-0.
“Liu was supposed to field that one,” Taiwan manager Lee Cheng-ta said. “They were supposed to send it to first base or home base. They made a wrong choice. Even then, after the wrong choice, they made a bad throw. They’re just kids.”
Taiwan were named the recipients of the Jack Losch Little League Baseball World Series Team Sportsmanship Award based on their display of sportsmanship on and off the field.
“Since 2004, we have honored teams at the Little League Baseball World Series who go out of their way to showcase sportsmanship on and off the field, and we are pleased to recognize [Guishan Elementary] from Taoyuan ... with this year’s award,” Little League president and CEO Stephen Keener was quoted as saying on the Little League Web site.
“Since the time this team arrived in Williamsport, they have displayed respect, integrity, and appreciation for all the other participating teams, volunteers, and staff who make the event possible. We hope their acts of sportsmanship, both on and off the field, serve as an inspiration and reminder for the more than 6,500 local leagues who play Little League each year.”
Taiwan dominated the World Series from 1969 to 1996, winning 17 times, but have not won the tournament since. They made the championship in 2009 under Lee, who also managed this year’s club.
“Throughout my coaching career, I understand that these are kids,” Lee said. “You cannot expect them to be adults or like the MLB. They are not stable, and you can’t put the blame on them. They are just kids.”
Taiwan were to play the team representing the American Southwest in the third-place playoff at 11am yesterday, and Curacao were to play California in the final.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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