Czech Republic, Hong Kong set for semifinal clash; Singapore and India duel for last final four spot

After Chinese Taipei secured the first final four spot on Thursday, the Czech Republic and Hong Kong followed in confirming their places in the semifinals with respective wins over India and Singapore on Friday at the II WBSC U-12 Softball World Cup in Jin-Long Stadium

Singapore and India will play a decisive quarterfinal game at 11:00 local time (UTC+8) on Saturday to claim the remaining semifinal berth, before facing the defending champions Chinese Taipei at 15:00. The Czech Republic and Hong Kong semifinal is scheduled at 13:00.

The Czech Republic finished second in the Opening Round standings with three wins and one defeat by the host team including a 17-0 win over India on Friday, which included 16-of-23 hits led by Katerina Slanska who had a perfect hitting game and scored three runs.

Hong Kong escaped Singapore’s late rally in the final inning to win 7-6 to finish third in the standings with two wins and two losses. Matt Chui and Zita Tik provided the spark to mount a 7-2 advantage by the end of the third inning to eclipse the four-run output of Singapore in the last two frames.

Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei completed their sweep of the Opening Round with a 20-0 victory over India. Four Chinese Taipei players combined for six inside-the-park homers, including three RBI doubles. The entire starting line-up of the East Asian squad scored at least one run and made at least one hit to showcase their dominance on offence.