TAICHUNG, Taiwan -- Under the Chinese Taipei Softball Association, the Taiwan Professional Women’s Softball League (TPWSL) opened its fifth season on Saturday, 25 April, becoming the first professional softball league in 2020 to open its season amid the coronavirus pandemic. The five-game opening day was held at Wanshou Softball Ground in Taichung City.

Respecting government directives, all games are being played behind closed doors until further notice. Softball fans nonetheless were able to watch TPWSL action through FOX Sports Taiwan, which also showed the games on Facebook Live.

During the opening ceremony, Deputy speaker of Legislature Chi-Chang Tsai stated: “We are enormously proud of the fact that our softball season is underway following our baseball [CPBL] season while all sport events in the world are being halted due to the coronavirus. This is the first pitch of the softball season in the world.”

Professional leagues in Taiwan are underway with no fans in the stadiums. The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), the top sports league on the island, was the first pro baseball league in the world to open its 2020 season. The Taiwan Football Premier League and the Taiwan Super Basketball League have also launched their seasons behind closed doors.

The second day of competition of the TPWSL was live-streamed on the league’s YouTube Channel.

The first half of the TPWSL 2020 regular season will last until 21 June, with the first 40 games of the campaign. The second half of the season will take place from 8 August to 11 October, completing the 80 scheduled games.

Hosting the launch of the softball season, Taichung City Mayor Shiow-Yen Lu stated “the fact we can open the softball season in Taichung reflects the solid achievement we have accomplished toward pandemic prevention. I also want to point out that the launch of the softball season is a demonstration of our continuous pursuit of gender equality in sports.”

In the opening game of 2020 TPWSL, defending champions New Century Hornets came from behind to defeat XinLi Wang Lions, 9-8, to take the first victory of the season.

The TPWSL played its historic first season in 2016, with four teams.

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