Seoul (Korea). Korea broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning en route to a 7-1 victory over Australia on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time that the host of the XXV IBAF 18U Baseball World Championship played at Mokdong Stadium, as they were able to improve to 3-0. The team from Down Under only threatened in the beginning and couldn’t come back at the end. They are now 1-2 and in danger to miss a ticket for the final round.
Australia actually had the better start into the game. Lewis Thorpe, who had signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins in June and also participated in the IBAF 16U Baseball World Championship pitched around a two-out triple in the top half of the first. The offense gave him a 1-0 lead in the bottom half. Cameron Warner drove in Aaron Sayers to put the first run on the board. But they wouldn’t cross the plate again afterwards.
Korea finally found a way to get to Thorpe in the third, tying the game with a RBI single by Dae Young Yoon. One inning later they got up in front. Young Jun Yoo broke the tie with a RBI single. He eventually stole second base, move to third on a passed ball and came around to score on a wild pitch. Not much happened until the last two frames, when Korea added four insurance runs. An error and a RBI single by In Tae Kim made it 5-1 in the eighth and Jun Suk Song sealed the deal with a two-run triple in the ninth.
The 16-year-old Thorpe ended up with the loss, allowing three runs (2 ER) on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven, showing his potential. Hyun Sik Jang gave up one run on five hits and two base on balls in seven frames to pick up the win. Geon Wook Lee and Joong Yeol An closed it out.
