VII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup: Will Chinese Taipei pitchers shut down USA sluggers?
The defending champions USA are the best-hitting team after the opening round of the VII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup. They posted an astonishing .492 batting average with 13 home runs, hit by six different players and 70 RBIs. The figure which says the most is total bases. USA collected 113, and only the Dominican Republic got close with 96. Gavin Gomez is the leading hitter, with a .692 batting average and four home runs.
The Dominican Republic have the best hitter in the tournament, Gustavo Talmare, who posted a .727 batting average with three home runs in the first five games.
The Dominican lineup, a .432 batting average, is a threat. It is questionable if the pitching staff will support them in the quest for a medal. The 11 Dominican pitchers posted a 5.45 earned run average (ERA), much higher than the 3.36 of the nine-pitcher USA staff and a whole different world from Chinese Taipei.
The hosts used 11 pitchers. Lei Yeh is the one with the most innings pitched (6.2). Their ERA is 0.67, which roughly means they can win the average game by scoring just one run.
Chinese Taipei posted a .393 batting average with two home runs and 33 RBIs. Sheng-Rang Wang and his .636 batting average stands out.
Venezuela also have a consistent pitching record. Their ERA is 1.54, and Venezuela are one of the few teams which have seen starters going deep into games. Willy Rodriguez has not allowed a run despite pitching six innings, and Francys Sandoval had gone the distance against Germany. With only one error, Venezuela's defence has supported their pitchers well. The lineup has given a fair contribution, posting a .403 batting average with 35 RBIs and 70 total bases.
The Dominican Republic, with four errors, have the second-best defence. Every other team exceeds the one-error-per-game average. Japan represent an interesting case because five of their seven errors came against Mexico in the final game of group play.
Japan are a solid team, with a batting average of .410 and seven home runs. Only two players on the roster have gone deep, Yusuke Koma (four homers) and Kengo Wada (3). They both homered twice against Mexico in the final game of Group A.
Japan also have consistent pitching. As a team, they posted a 2.10 ERA. The main starters, Sosuke Mizuno and Eishin Miyano, have yet to allow an earned run.
Finally, Korea are the Super Round team with the lowest batting average, .363, and the most miniature total bases, 62. They hit four homers, two with Hanjun Kim. Korea are the team that have used the most pitchers, 15 and have posted a 3.23 ERA.
