Taipei City. The preliminary round at the II 12U Baseball World Cup in Taipei City is heating up. On day three of the tournament the two meetings of undefeated teams at Tien-Mou Stadium were in the spotlight.
In the afternoon Japan used great defense and a three-run triple to lay the groundwork to edge out Chinese Taipei. In the evening Venezuela was able to come through against Korean pitching and moved into sole possession of first place in Group B before their clash with Team USA on Sunday.
Looking at the other matchups on Saturday, Brazil downed the Czech Republic in the morning behind a three-run third. And Panama picked up its first win in the event, as their offense woke up in a lopsided affair against Russia. Also Italy entered the win column, defeating the Philippines easily. Hong Kong came back late from a seven-run deficit to stop Pakistan in the most dramatic game of the day.
Besides the duel between the United States and their South American rivals, Sunday’s schedule also includes a rematch of the 2011 semi-finals between Chinese Taipei and Mexico. The other games are between the Philippines and Czech Republic, Hong Kong and Korea, Japan and Italy, as well as Pakistan and Russia.
Italy 12 – Philippines 2
Italy has its first win in the II 12U Baseball World Cup. The eighth-ranked team in 2011 defeated the Philippines 12-2 in the morning game at Youth Park. They scored in each of the five innings, highlighted by a five-spot in the fifth. Andrea Orrasch drove in three. Gabriele Angioi scored three times.
Russia 0 – Panama 15
Panama rebounded from a pair of 0-2 starts to defeat Russia 15-0 at Shing-Sheng Stadium on Saturday morning. Javier Serrano and Gamaliel Gonzalez combined in a no-hit, three-walk shutout. Leonardo Jimenez had four hits and three runs to lead the offense.
Czech Republic 0 – Brazil 3
At Tien-Mou Stadium Brazil scored three runs in the third en route to a 3-0 victory over European Champion Czech Republic. Gabriel Matsumura and Matheus Chimura kept the Czech team off the board. Brazil is now 2-1 in the tournament, the Czech Republic 0-3.
Hong Kong 11 – Pakistan 9
In the most dramatic game on Saturday Hong Kong came back from a 2-9 deficit with nine runs in the bottom of the fifth to prevail 11-9 against Pakistan. It was a wild game, which saw Pakistan leading for most of the game until the improbable rally. Lok Yin Chan and Chung Yin Chu drove in two runs apiece.
Chinese Taipei 2 – Japan 4
A bases clearing triple by Tomoharu Moriya highlighted a four-run fourth, which helped Japan in a 4-2 victory over host Chinese Taipei in the afternoon game at Tien-Mou Stadium. The match fulfilled the high expectations, as a good crowd saw a tight ballgame as both teams played at the same high level.
Korea 3 – Venezuela 7
In the evening Venezuela broke a scoreless tie with an infield single in the fourth and then continued to score in a 7-3 victory over Korea. The Asian baseball power house tried to come back in the end, but it was too little too late. With the win they improve to 3-0, while Korea suffered its first loss in three games.
Standings
Group A
1) Japan 3-0
2) Chinese Taipei 2-1
3) Brazil 2-1
4) Mexico 1-1
5) Italy 1-1
6) Philippines 0-2
7) Czech Republic 0-3
Group B
1) Venezuela 3-0
2) USA 2-0
3) Korea 2-1
4) Hong Kong 1-1
4) Panama
6) Russia 0-2
7) Pakistan 0-3
Schedule
Sunday, July 21, 2013
10:00 Philippines – Czech Republic (Shing-Sheng)
10:00 Hong Kong – Korea (Youth Park)
10:00 Japan – Italy (Tien-Mou)
14:00 Pakistan – Russia (Youth Park)
14:00 Chinese Taipei – Mexico (Tien-Mou)
18:30 Venezuela – USA (Tien-Mou)
(local times)
