Tien-Mou/Taipei City. The United States concluded their first round schedule at the 12U Baseball World Cup in Taipei City with an 18-1 victory over Korea in the Thursday morning game at Tien-Mou Stadium. Five runs in the third and seven in fifth blew the score wide open. Anthony Volpe and Jakob Hines led the US American offense. With the win Team USA secures second place in Group B, while Korea drops to third.
Jakob Hines paced the US boys by going 5-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, three runs scored and six RBI. Anthony Volpe had four hits, four runs and four RBI in five at-bats. Garrett McMillan also drove a ball over the fence for a home run. On the mound Kayler Yates, Colton Olasin, Kevin Martin, Matthew Allan and Justin Campbell shared the workload, getting some pitches in preparation for the final round.
Korea only was able to produce in the second inning. Byeong Hwi Kim scored on a throwing error by pitcher Colton Olasin, who had taken over for Kayler Yates. Kim also had the lone Korean hit in the game with a single in the same frame.
Min Jae Kim took the loss. The Korean starter gave up three runs on three hits and getting removed from the game without getting a single out. But the other hurlers Jun Ho Kim, Tae Ho Eom, Min Su Kang, Ju Yong Euom and Woo In Choi weren’t able to shut down the American offense either.
Next up for both teams will be the quarterfinals on Friday. The United States will take on Brazil, while Korea has drawn a meeting with host and defending champion Chinese Taipei.
