It was a classic battle between the top two ranked teams in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings.
World No. 2 Chinese Taipei knocked off top-ranked and previously unbeaten Japan, 6-4, Thursday night on the second day of Super Round action of the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2022 in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Chinese Taipei's win now creates a three-way tie for second place in the Super Round standings, with Japan, Chinese Taipei and USA all 2-1 with two games remaining to determine Sunday's final and first-place Cuba sitting at 3-0.
Kuan-Yu Chu went 3-for-3 with three RBI to lead Chinese Taipei’s come-from-behind victory over Japan.
Japan took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third, after a two-run single off the bat of Rui Yano.
Japan’s Shintaro Sakamoto pitched effectively over four scoreless innings, striking out five while allowing three hits. Reliever Haruto Kashiwazaki came on in the fifth and couldn’t hold the lead against an intense Chinese Taipei squad.
Chinese Taipei rallied for four runs hitting on four consecutive singles to grab the lead, 4-2, and added two insurance runs in the sixth.
Japan tried to stage a comeback, putting runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth and seventh, but Tien-Szu Huang -- who pitched 3.2 innings in relief giving up seven hits and two runs, with two strikeouts -- was able to keep the Samurai hitters off balance to close the game and earn the win.
In Friday's action, Japan (2-1) will face Cuba (3-0), while Chinese Taipei (2-1) will face USA (2-1) in key games that will have an important impact on shaping Sunday's finals.
