Youth Park/Taipei City. Korea will play for fifth place at the II 12U Baseball World Cup. In the first game of the classification round on Saturday morning at Youth Park, they defeated Mexico 8-4. Five runs in the second inning were enough to celebrate the victory. Mexico has to settle for the game for seventh place.

After both teams scored once in the first, Korea took control of the game with a five-run rally in the second. A single, a wild pitch, Dong Wook Kwon’s big two-run double and a sac bunt plated the five runs and got the Asian squad en route to the win.

Kwon finished the game with four RBI. Ji Min Shin and Ho Jun Kwon scored twice. Mexico was able to plate four runs in the game, but couldn’t really create a momentum changing rally. Jesus Medina had two doubles and a RBI. Martin Olivas scored once and drove in a run.

Seong Min Kim replaced starter Ju Yong Euom with no outs in the first and kept Mexico to three runs on six hits through the remaining six innings of the game to pick up the win. He struck out four and didn’t walk a single batter. Luis Castellanos was charged with four hits, six runs and three walks in 1 1/3 innings to take the loss.

Mexico now will face the loser of the Brazil-Panama matchup on Sunday morning in a game for seventh place. Korea takes on the winner in the afternoon, hoping to secure fifth place in the final standings. Mexico finished in fourth place in 2011, Korea in seventh.