Seoul (Korea). The fourth day of the XXV IBAF 18U Baseball World Championship provided more excitement at Jamsil and Mokdong Stadiums in Seoul, Korea on Monday. With the exception of the easy wins by Australia and Japan over the Netherlands respective Italy, all games went down to the wire.
In the morning the Czech Republic put on a big fight against the heavily favored Canada, which eventually prevailed thanks to a pair of runs in the seventh inning, breaking the tie. In the afternoon Chinese Taipei walked off again with a win, demoralizing Panama with a sac fly in the bottom half of the ninth.
The day ended with two thrillers in the evening. At Jamsil Team USA downed Venezuela barely, scoring the winning run in the eighth inning in a matchup which fulfilled the high expectations. Meanwhile at Mokdong Colombia upset Korea with two runs in the ninth to hand the hosts their first loss of the event.
This all sets up a big showdown on the last day of the first round on Tuesday. In Group A Korea, USA, Colombia, Australia and Venezuela are still in the race with only the winless Netherlands being already planning for the classification round on Wednesday. In Group B four teams – Canada, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Panama – battle for three spots.
The top three from each pool advance to the second round, which starts on Wednesday as well. Games will be played at Jamsil and Mokdong on Wednesday with the exact schedule to be announced on Tuesday evening. Starting from Thursday through Saturday, Mokdong Stadium will host the decisive games of the XXV IBAF 18U Baseball World Championship.
Schedule
Tuesday, September 1, 2012
10:00 Japan – Czech Republic (Jamsil)
10:00 Venezuela – Colombia (Mokdong)
14:00 Netherlands – Korea (Jamsil)
14:00 Italy – Chinese Taipei (Mokdong)
18:00 Panama – Canada (Mokdong)
18:00 USA – Australia (Jamsil)
(All six games were postponed on August 30 and were re-scheduled for Tuesday, September 1)
Group A
Netherlands 1 – Australia 8
A grand slam in the third inning by Aaron Sayers gave Australia an early lead en route to an 8-1 win over the Netherlands on Monday morning at Mokdong Stadium. Two runs in the sixth and ninth provided some insurance against a Dutch team, which remains winless in the XXV IBAF 18U Baseball World Championship. Australia improved to 2-2 in Group A, keeping their chances alive to reach the final round.
Korea 1 – Colombia 3
Colombia delivered the probably biggest upset of the tournament so far on Monday evening, handing host Korea its first loss in the fourth game. The team from South America scored two runs in the top of the ninth thanks to a wild pitch and a RBI double by Carlos Martinez en route to a 3-1 stunner. They are now 2-2, keeping their chances alive to reach the final round.
USA 3 – Venezuela 2
The United States won the highly anticipated and crucial Group A matchup against Venezuela on Monday evening at Jamsil Stadium. They needed an eighth-inning run on a RBI single by pinch hitter Cavan Biggio to prevail by a final score of 3-2, overcoming a 0-2 deficit in the process. Dominic Taccolini struck out eight in six scoreless innings of one-hit, one-walk relief. Venezuela dropped to 2-2 in the standings, while the USA improved to 3-1.
Group B
Canada 3 – Czech Republic 2
Canada has a thing for thrilling games at the XXV IBAF 18U Baseball World Championship. After three matches ended in walk-off style, they barely edged out the Czech Republic by a score of 3-2 on Monday morning, improving to 3-1 in Group B play. Two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on a sac fly and an error broke the tie and decided the outcome. The Czech team remains winless in the tournament.
Chinese Taipei 4 – Panama 3
Not even 24 hours after coming back against Canada, Chinese Taipei celebrated another walk-off win. They beat Panama 4-3 on a sac fly by Tzu Wei Lin in the bottom of the ninth inning. The team from Central America had just tied the game in the top of the eighth with a run by Edmundo Sosa. Chinese Taipei improved to 3-1, while Panama dropped to 2-2.
Japan 7 – Italy 1
Yu Kambara and two relievers allowed just four hits, a run and two walks in nine innings, while striking out 16 in a 7-1 win of Japan over Italy. It is their third win in four games, while Italy suffered its third loss. Team Nippon scored six of their seven runs between the second and the fifth.
Standings
Group A
1) Korea 3-1
2) USA 3-1
3) Australia 2-2
3) Colombia 2-2
3) Venezuela 2-2
6) Netherlands 0-4
Group B
1) Canada 3-1
2) Japan 3-1
3) Chinese Taipei 3-1
4) Panama 2-2
5) Italy 1-3
6) Czech Republic 0-4
(Teams tied in standings are ranked in alphabetical order)
