No. 2
ranked USA (0-1) will face off with no. 3 ranked Korea (1-0) from the Tokyo
Dome in the 2019 WBSC Premier12 Super Round on Monday.
This game
is a re-match of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 Championship Game, which Korea won
8-0.
Korea enter
the Super Round with a perfect record, after dominant wins against Australia,
Canada and Cuba. The defending Premier12 Champions outscored their opponents
15-1 in the Opening Round, and enter the Super Round with a team ERA of 0.33.
The US
claimed two wins from three games in Group A, with their only loss coming at
the hands of group winners Mexico. The US opened the tournament with a dominant
9-0 win against the Netherlands, and held their nerve to defeat the Dominican
Republic 10-8 to secure Super Round qualification.
Cody Ponce
tossed five shutout innings to claim the win against the Netherlands,
scattering two hits in a solid performance. Veteran catcher Erik Kratz starred
for the US offensively, going 5-for-8 with two homers and recording a
tournament high .667 on-base-percentage in the Opening Round.
Yang
Hyeonjong was only one of two pitchers to record 10 strikeouts in the Opening
Round, tossing six innings of one-hit ball against Australia. Lee Junghoo leads
the tournament in doubles (3), and has an on-base-percentage of .615.
First pitch from the Tokyo Dome is slated for 19:00 JST, with starting pitchers set to be named at the Super Round press conference on Sunday 10 November.