Taiwan places 2nd in U12 Baseball World Cup

台灣U12棒球世界杯亞軍

Taiwan defeated by US batters, strong effort gave way to fielding errors, poor relief pitching


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —The U12 Baseball World Cup championship was held in Tainan on Sunday evening (Aug. 6), and despite a strong effort, Taiwan finished in second place, losing to the U.S. team.

As the home team, Taiwan was supported by a raucous, sold-out crowd, though it faced an uphill battle against the U.S. team. Not only the defending champions, but the Americans were winners of a lopsided head-to-head contest just a day earlier (Aug. 5).

The score was knotted at 0-0 in the first two innings of the game. In the third inning, the U.S. team was set to score an early run but ran afoul of U12 regulations, forbidding runners from sliding head-first into home plate out of safety considerations.

Thus, U.S. player Nicholis Parker Jr. was ruled out at home plate, and a runner behind him was thrown out at the plate, preventing the U.S. team from scoring in the third inning, per UDN. However, the scoreless draw did not last long as the U.S. took an early lead, bringing in two runs, putting the score at 0-2.

Taiwan starting pitcher Gau Sheng-kai (高聖凱) felt the heat as he gave way to reliever Yeh Lei (葉壘), who started out well but struggled in later innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Taiwan scored two runs to tie the game 2-2, but in their next chance at the plate, the U.S. team took the lead again at the top of the fifth, leading by a score of 2-3.

In the sixth and final inning, U.S. batters proved too much, scoring three runs off Yeh Lei, who was replaced by position player, Huang Yi-hau (黃譯皜). U.S. first baseman Leyland Henry sealed the game with a moonshot far over the protective fence in the outfield, putting the U.S. ahead by a score of 2-10, capping a seven-run inning for the U.S. side.

As the home team played out the final half of the inning, Taiwan third baseman Shen Wei-fan (沈偉凡) was able to hit a home run off U.S. pitcher Gavin Gomez to finish the game at 4-10. Shen played bravely during this championship match, accounting for 4 RBIs, the sum total of Taiwan’s scoring in the game.

Prior to losing to the U.S. side on consecutive days, Taiwan had been on a seven-game winning streak. The U.S. team has proven to be a familiar foe, with Taiwan losing to the Americans in championship rounds in 2013, 2015, and 2017.