Caraballo shines as Colombia surge to 10-0 blowout of South Africa

After two hits and three RBIs, Roger Caraballo helped Colombia to record its first win in Group A after a 10-0 win over South Africa in the IV WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup on Saturday.

Group A moved to the Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, where Colombia and South Africa were seeking their first win after losing to hosts Chinese Taipei on Thursday and Venezuela on Friday, respectively.

While teams in Group B struggled with the rain in Taipei, the players in Group A are coping with the warm and sunny weather in Taichung.

In the bottom of the second inning, both Colombia’s Leandro Emiliano and Branlyn Jarab reached on the bases on fielder’s choice. Right after, Daniel Aguilar's double to centre field sent both of his teammates to home plate.

Brayan Buelvas later brought home another run in the third inning to give Colombia a 3-0 lead.

South Africa had an opportunity to comeback in the fourth inning, when the bases were loaded after Luke November singled to right centre and both Trystan Mills and Corbin Greenslade walked.

It was the biggest threat Colombia faced during the game, but South Africa were not able to capitalise on the opportunity. And the succeeding plays were generally quiet and were only five hits made jointly by both teams at the time.

When it came to the bottom of the sixth inning, Colombia's offence surged with Emiliani’s double to right field, scoring four runs in a row to extend the lead to 7-0.

There were six doubles in total from Colombia, including the last one hit by Carlos Arroyo, which was a 2-RBI double down right field line. With a step away from the win, Caraballo ended the game early with a single up the middle with the whole Colombian lineup going at bat.

After the 10-0 shutout win, Colombia now ranks fourth in Group A. Their next game will be against Venezuela on Sunday at 10.00 local time, while South Africa will face Germany at 14.30.