Taipei City. One day after shutting out New Zealand 10-0, Chinese Taipei cruised to another easy victory at the World Baseball Classic Qualifier. On Friday evening at Xinzhuang Stadium in Taipei City the host defeated the Philippines 16-0 in seven innings.
Taking advantage of 14 hits and 12 walks Chinese Taipei advanced to the final without any trouble. They will either face New Zealand or the Philippines, which will determine the second finalist on Saturday in their matchup.
Team CT scored three runs in the third, eight in the fifth and five in the seventh to close out the mercy-rule shortened affair. Designated hitter Yi-Chuan Len led the way, going 2-for-5 with five RBI. Cheng-Ming Peng reached base five times to score three runs. Szu-Chi Chou worked four of the twelve walks.
The Philippines, which had beaten Thailand 8-2 on Thursday, couldn’t do anything in the game. On offense Ryan Pineda had the lone hit of the game. He also walked. They managed just two more base runners.
Otherwise the Chinese Taipei pitching staff was fully in control. Led by starter and winner Yu-Ching Lin four hurlers combined to allow just one hit and two walks in seven scoreless innings.
Ryuya Ogawa did a fine job for the Philippines in the beginning, but lost his clean slate in the third. He was charged with the loss, issuing five hits, three runs and four walks in four frames.
Results WBC Qualifier Taipei City:
Thursday, November 15:
Thailand 2 – Philippines 8
Chinese Taipei 10 – New Zealand 0
Friday, November 16:
Thailand 2 – New Zealand 12
Philippines 0 – Chinese Taipei 16
Photo: Copyright World Baseball Classic, Inc.
