<img alt="Cuba v Japan: Group B - WBSC Premier12" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1kvRqOW_ufHsFeKQ8r2bjRlsNAA=/0x0:5702x3801/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73730765/2185233426.0.jpg">
Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images
Group play for the Premier12 tournament is over, with the action getting back underway with the Super Round on November 21st There was little drama on the final day of Premier12 group play. Korea’s Doyeong Kim delivered once again in a win, and the heavy favorites Japan and Chinese Taipei cruised to wins to close out the group strong. Those two advance to the next round where Japan will open against Drake Baldwin and the United States, while Chinese Taipei faces Ehire Adrianza and the red-hot Venezuelan team. The Braves once again saw little action from former players in group B, with former relief prospect Steve Kent pitching for Australia. Kent allowed a run on three hits and a walk in an inning of play, but overall had a solid tournament with a run allowed in three innings.
SCOREBOARD
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Player of the DayDoyeong Kim, Korea3-4, HR, 4 RBI
Korea didn’t come away from this tournament with the result they wanted, falling a game short of a berth in the Super Round, but their star hitter certainly came to play. Kim capped off his fantastic Premier12 showing with a home run in Korea’s win over Australia to go along with three total hits. Kim knocked in four of Korea’s five runs. Kim finished second in group play with three home runs and second with 10 RBI, leading Group B in both of those categories.
Pitcher of the Day: Youngpyo Ko, Korea3 2⁄3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Ko ended the Premier12 on a high note, throwing 3 2⁄3 dominant innings over Australia to lead the team to a win. Ko was in complete control to start the game, striking out Travis Bazzana to open the first inning and setting down nine straight Australian hitters. Ko kept going in the fourth inning by retiring Bazzana again and getting Aaron Whitefield to strike out for his second of the game before a single finally got Australia in the hit column. Ko was pulled immediately after this, but Korea’s pitching staff would go on to shut down Australia for the rest of the game.
AUSTRALIA 2 — 5 KOREA
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEDoyeong Kim, KOR: 3-4, HR, 3 RBIYoungpyo Ko, KOR: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 RLiam Spence, AUS: 2-4, RBI
Korea took care of business against the lower-ranked teams in Group B, finishing off with a win over Australia lead by another big performance from Doyeong Kim. Both starters put up early zeroes, but the second time through the order the Korean lineup was on fire and was able to open up a lead in the middle innings. Changki Hong led off in the third inning with a base hit, and after advancing on a sacrifice bunt Kim opened up the scoring with an RBI single. The Koreans would keep adding in the fourth inning, a walk to Seonghan Park leading off yet another rally. Once the lineup flipped with two outs Hong again reached with a base hit, and after an error Kim came to the plate with another chance to make an impact. Kim came through with another base hit, and Korea took a 3-0 lead into the fifth inning.
Liam Spence steps up! ⚾️ A single through the left side drives in Rixon Wingrove, cutting the lead as Australia scores its second run! ♂️#Premier12 || @Premier12 | @TeamAusBaseball pic.twitter.com/RofgZoe8YF— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
Youngpyo Ko’s last start in this tournament was a disaster. His six runs allowed to Taiwan in the second inning of the opening game ultimately sunk Korea in that contest, and that game ended up being the difference between them advancing and not. Ko bounced back in a major way against Australia, retiring the first 11 batters he faced in the game on an efficient 42 pitches. Australia had no chance against Ko, but once Ko left the game they were able to get a bit of action started in the fifth inning. Yeongchan You struggled in relief, walking two batters to open the inning then allowing a hit to Liam Spence which loaded the bases with no one out. Seungyong Choi came in to put out a significant fire, and for the most part pitched brilliantly. Choi struck out the first batter he faced then recorded a fielder’s choice out at home, but his walk to Travis Bazzana put Australia on the board. Youngha Lee struck out Aaron Whitefield to end the rally, but Korea found themselves in a precipitous situation again in the sixth. Rixon Wingrove cracked a one out double to start off a scoring rally, with Darryl George following with a single that moved Wingrove to third base. Another pitching change followed, Taekyeon Kim taking over and recording the second out on a fly out. Kim couldn’t close the inning out scoreless, Spence again coming through in a big spot and driving home Wingrove with a single. Kim would get out of it with Korea still leading, and Korea quickly earned back those two runs.
Kim-possible to stop! ⚾ Doyeong Kim launches a two-run homer to deep left, driving in Shin Minjae! #Premier12 || @Premier12 | @KBOleague pic.twitter.com/Vi8ycqcHgK— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
Korea’s half of the sixth inning started off with little excitement. Two consecutive strikeouts by Warwick Saupold recorded the first two outs of the inning, but Minjae Shin hit one back up the middle that pinged off of Saupold. Shin reached safely, and Saupold wasn’t able to continue to face the dangerous Doyeong Kim. Kim got a couple of looks at replacement Sam Holland, then unloaded on one. Holland missed badly with his slider, leaving the pitch up and right on the inner edge of the plate, and Kim did not miss. He quickly put it over the left field wall, getting those two hard-fought runs from Australia back in a flash. Kim’s third home run of the tournament broke a tie for second in home runs in group play, putting him alone in second place and first place in Group B. Korea’s bullpen locked down the remainder of the game. They combined to retire nine of the last ten batters, only a walk to break up the streak, while striking out six.
JAPAN 11 — 3 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEShota Morishita, JPN: 3-3, BBAlen Hanson, DOM: 3-4, 2 2B, RBIToshiya Sato, JPN: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI
This game was a lot close than the final score, with the Dominican Republic putting up an admirable fight early, but the deep Samurai Japan lineup wouldn’t let the DR pitching staff rest, and late runs blew the game open. Shota Morishita was terrific for Japan, reaching in each of his four plate appearances, and he started out in the first inning with a base hit that would be the key to a two-out rally. Dominican starter Wily Peralta followed that with consecutive walks, forcing home the first run of the game to give Japan an easy lead. Still, Peralta managed to get a fly out to end the inning, and the Dominican lineup had some success against Shosei Togo in the early innings.
This Shosei Togo's pitch#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/qaIVxkMiw7— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
The Dominican Republic answered immediately, Jose Devers leading off in the bottom of the first inning with a base hit. After Devers advanced to second on a balk Alen Hansen tied the game up, raking a poorly located changeup from Togo down the right field line for an RBI double. This provided a major chance for the Dominican Republic to take an early lead, but Togo settled down. He struck out two of the next three batters, preventing Hansen from advancing and closing down a potential early rally for the Dominican team. The Dominican Republic wouldn’t let Togo rest too easily though, as Andretty Cordero lead off in the second inning with a double. Togo was able to get two outs, but couldn’t escape. Michael De Leon went down to get a low changeup, dropping his bat and managing to line one over the head of the first baseman. The ball rolled deep enough for Cordero to score easily and for De Leon to stroll into second with a go-ahead double. Now holding the lead the Dominican Republic sent Henry Henry back for his second inning, but they couldn’t escape Morishita’s influence.
What a nice piece of hitting by Shogo Sakakura to bring one more run! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/eCf5hLcmKH— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
Morishita’s one out single in the third inning would start a quick rally, with two walks from Henry loading up the bases with two outs in the inning. Toshiya Sato came up the clutch hit for Samurai Japan, slapping a 3-2 fastball into left field for an RBI single. Morishita scored easily, but Luis Mieses cut down Kotaro Kurebayashi trying to go first to third on the play. This throw beat lead runner Ryoya Kurihara to the plate, allowing the Dominican Republic to maintain a tie. That held for an inning, but when the Dominican Republic turned to Hector Perez, Perez just didn’t have his best stuff. Perez walked the first two hitters of the inning, and Kurihara broke the tie with a base hit to score Keita Sano. Perez never recorded an out, Shogo Sakakura ending his day with an RBI single to score Morishita, and Japan came away with a back-breaking three run inning.
Japan end the Opening Round unbeaten! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/hDReI11vLL— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
The Dominicans weren’t completely out of the game, but they would need Japan to make some mistakes in order to claw their way back in the game. The first of those came in the sixth inning. Kelvin Gutierrez reached on a walk, and after a throwing error by Haruto Inoue he was able to advance to third and then score on a wild pitch. Inoue didn’t let the game get away from him, however, and Japan got the run right back. Once again Morishita started a rally, slashing a base hit with one out, and a single from Yuto Koga pushed the lead back to three runs. Japan wasn’t going to make enough mistakes for the Dominican Republic to have a chance. The DR couldn’t string hits together, and there final hopes of an upset were dashed in the ninth inning. Japan loaded the bases with two outs, then kept on piling runs on the board. A single from Kurebayasha scored two more runs, extended the lead to a likely insurmountable five runs, then Sato’s RBI double really put the nail in the coffin. Ryota Isobata finished the hit parade with another double to score Sato and Kurebayashi, the Japanese lead going from three to eight runs in a flash. Micker Adolfo managed a hit in the ninth inning, but De Leon grounded into a double play to end the game.
CUBA 0 — 2 CHINESE TAIPEI
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEPei-Fong Dai, TPE: 3-4, 2BYusniel Padron, CUB: 2 IP, 0 R, 4 KChun-Wei Wu, TPE: 1 IP, 0 R, 2 K
This Cuban team may have come up just short against Taiwan and Japan over the final two games, but no other team was able to give those two quite the scare Cuba did over the final two days. It was a tremendous show of fortitude after their terrible start to the tournament, though they ultimately fell just short in both games. Yoennis Yera was fantastic the first time through the order, retiring seven of the first eight batters, but a walk to the nine-hole hitter set the first run of the game in place. While Yera got Chih-Cheng Chiu to fly out out of the lead off spot, Kungkuan Giljegiljaw’s double broke the seal on the game to put Taiwan up early. Yera’s fourth inning was his worst, and put enough of a gap on the board for the strong Taiwanese pitching staff to cruise down the stretch. Yera walked the leadoff hitter, then two infield singles loaded the bases with still no outs in the inning. Yera put up an admirable fight, a bit of batted ball luck the difference between runs in the inning, but Taiwan was able to bring home a run on a fielder’s choice. Still, Yera limited damage, retiring the final three hitters in the order.
⚡⚾ Kuan-Wei Chen's nasty pitch#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/ybLZJyPexR— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
It’s not secret though that Taiwan wasn’t exactly putting their best foot forward in the game. With their spot in second place in the group locked in to place they were content with a hangover lineup and running out a bullpen game, and Cuba wasn’t really able to do anything against this pitching staff. No one on Taiwan through more than 25 pitches in the game, and the Cuban lineup had trouble settling in against the steady stream of arm. Taiwan’s pitching staff didn’t allow a walk in the game, while striking out 11 batters. Cuba’s best early scoring chance came from Ariel Martinez in the second inning. Martinez greeted Chih-Hsuan Wang with a long fly ball, banging it off of the top of the wall for a double. Wang had not even a second to settle into the game, yet settle in Wang did. He struck out Erisbel Arruebarruena for the second out of the inning, then got Yoelkis Guibert to pop out into foul territory to end the inning. Wang went 1-2-3 in the third inning, and immediately after Taiwan took the lead.
⚾ Chinese Taipei end the Opening Round on high note!#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/0GCoQr05RG— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
Facing a 2-0 deficit the Cuban side had a fight on their hands, and Arruebarruena was ready to bring it. He doubled with one out in the top of the fifth inning, bringing up Guibert. Guibert nearly tied the game on the 2-1 pitch, lacing one down the first base line, but the ball curled just foul and Guibert struck out on the next pitch. Andrys Perez greeted a new Taiwan pitcher, En-Sih Huang, by smoking the first pitch up the middle for a base hit. Arruebarruena streaked around third base looking to score on the play, sliding in safe according to the call at home plate. However, upon review it was clear. Chiu had made a fantastic throw from center field and Pei-Fong Dai an even better tag at the plate to just beat Arruebarruena and record the third out of the inning. That was the end of things for Cuba. Roel Santos had a single in the sixth inning but never advanced past first base. Taiwan’s bullpen retired the final 11 Cuban hitters in the game, closing out their fourth win of the tournament to go into the super round on a high note.
<img alt="Cuba v Japan: Group B - WBSC Premier12" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1kvRqOW_ufHsFeKQ8r2bjRlsNAA=/0x0:5702x3801/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73730765/2185233426.0.jpg">
Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images
Group play for the Premier12 tournament is over, with the action getting back underway with the Super Round on November 21st There was little drama on the final day of Premier12 group play. Korea’s Doyeong Kim delivered once again in a win, and the heavy favorites Japan and Chinese Taipei cruised to wins to close out the group strong. Those two advance to the next round where Japan will open against Drake Baldwin and the United States, while Chinese Taipei faces Ehire Adrianza and the red-hot Venezuelan team. The Braves once again saw little action from former players in group B, with former relief prospect Steve Kent pitching for Australia. Kent allowed a run on three hits and a walk in an inning of play, but overall had a solid tournament with a run allowed in three innings.
SCOREBOARD
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Player of the DayDoyeong Kim, Korea3-4, HR, 4 RBI
Korea didn’t come away from this tournament with the result they wanted, falling a game short of a berth in the Super Round, but their star hitter certainly came to play. Kim capped off his fantastic Premier12 showing with a home run in Korea’s win over Australia to go along with three total hits. Kim knocked in four of Korea’s five runs. Kim finished second in group play with three home runs and second with 10 RBI, leading Group B in both of those categories.
Pitcher of the Day: Youngpyo Ko, Korea3 2⁄3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Ko ended the Premier12 on a high note, throwing 3 2⁄3 dominant innings over Australia to lead the team to a win. Ko was in complete control to start the game, striking out Travis Bazzana to open the first inning and setting down nine straight Australian hitters. Ko kept going in the fourth inning by retiring Bazzana again and getting Aaron Whitefield to strike out for his second of the game before a single finally got Australia in the hit column. Ko was pulled immediately after this, but Korea’s pitching staff would go on to shut down Australia for the rest of the game.
AUSTRALIA 2 — 5 KOREA
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEDoyeong Kim, KOR: 3-4, HR, 3 RBIYoungpyo Ko, KOR: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 RLiam Spence, AUS: 2-4, RBI
Korea took care of business against the lower-ranked teams in Group B, finishing off with a win over Australia lead by another big performance from Doyeong Kim. Both starters put up early zeroes, but the second time through the order the Korean lineup was on fire and was able to open up a lead in the middle innings. Changki Hong led off in the third inning with a base hit, and after advancing on a sacrifice bunt Kim opened up the scoring with an RBI single. The Koreans would keep adding in the fourth inning, a walk to Seonghan Park leading off yet another rally. Once the lineup flipped with two outs Hong again reached with a base hit, and after an error Kim came to the plate with another chance to make an impact. Kim came through with another base hit, and Korea took a 3-0 lead into the fifth inning.
Liam Spence steps up! ⚾️ A single through the left side drives in Rixon Wingrove, cutting the lead as Australia scores its second run! ♂️#Premier12 || @Premier12 | @TeamAusBaseball pic.twitter.com/RofgZoe8YF— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
Youngpyo Ko’s last start in this tournament was a disaster. His six runs allowed to Taiwan in the second inning of the opening game ultimately sunk Korea in that contest, and that game ended up being the difference between them advancing and not. Ko bounced back in a major way against Australia, retiring the first 11 batters he faced in the game on an efficient 42 pitches. Australia had no chance against Ko, but once Ko left the game they were able to get a bit of action started in the fifth inning. Yeongchan You struggled in relief, walking two batters to open the inning then allowing a hit to Liam Spence which loaded the bases with no one out. Seungyong Choi came in to put out a significant fire, and for the most part pitched brilliantly. Choi struck out the first batter he faced then recorded a fielder’s choice out at home, but his walk to Travis Bazzana put Australia on the board. Youngha Lee struck out Aaron Whitefield to end the rally, but Korea found themselves in a precipitous situation again in the sixth. Rixon Wingrove cracked a one out double to start off a scoring rally, with Darryl George following with a single that moved Wingrove to third base. Another pitching change followed, Taekyeon Kim taking over and recording the second out on a fly out. Kim couldn’t close the inning out scoreless, Spence again coming through in a big spot and driving home Wingrove with a single. Kim would get out of it with Korea still leading, and Korea quickly earned back those two runs.
Kim-possible to stop! ⚾ Doyeong Kim launches a two-run homer to deep left, driving in Shin Minjae! #Premier12 || @Premier12 | @KBOleague pic.twitter.com/Vi8ycqcHgK— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
Korea’s half of the sixth inning started off with little excitement. Two consecutive strikeouts by Warwick Saupold recorded the first two outs of the inning, but Minjae Shin hit one back up the middle that pinged off of Saupold. Shin reached safely, and Saupold wasn’t able to continue to face the dangerous Doyeong Kim. Kim got a couple of looks at replacement Sam Holland, then unloaded on one. Holland missed badly with his slider, leaving the pitch up and right on the inner edge of the plate, and Kim did not miss. He quickly put it over the left field wall, getting those two hard-fought runs from Australia back in a flash. Kim’s third home run of the tournament broke a tie for second in home runs in group play, putting him alone in second place and first place in Group B. Korea’s bullpen locked down the remainder of the game. They combined to retire nine of the last ten batters, only a walk to break up the streak, while striking out six.
JAPAN 11 — 3 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEShota Morishita, JPN: 3-3, BBAlen Hanson, DOM: 3-4, 2 2B, RBIToshiya Sato, JPN: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI
This game was a lot close than the final score, with the Dominican Republic putting up an admirable fight early, but the deep Samurai Japan lineup wouldn’t let the DR pitching staff rest, and late runs blew the game open. Shota Morishita was terrific for Japan, reaching in each of his four plate appearances, and he started out in the first inning with a base hit that would be the key to a two-out rally. Dominican starter Wily Peralta followed that with consecutive walks, forcing home the first run of the game to give Japan an easy lead. Still, Peralta managed to get a fly out to end the inning, and the Dominican lineup had some success against Shosei Togo in the early innings.
This Shosei Togo's pitch#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/qaIVxkMiw7— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
The Dominican Republic answered immediately, Jose Devers leading off in the bottom of the first inning with a base hit. After Devers advanced to second on a balk Alen Hansen tied the game up, raking a poorly located changeup from Togo down the right field line for an RBI double. This provided a major chance for the Dominican Republic to take an early lead, but Togo settled down. He struck out two of the next three batters, preventing Hansen from advancing and closing down a potential early rally for the Dominican team. The Dominican Republic wouldn’t let Togo rest too easily though, as Andretty Cordero lead off in the second inning with a double. Togo was able to get two outs, but couldn’t escape. Michael De Leon went down to get a low changeup, dropping his bat and managing to line one over the head of the first baseman. The ball rolled deep enough for Cordero to score easily and for De Leon to stroll into second with a go-ahead double. Now holding the lead the Dominican Republic sent Henry Henry back for his second inning, but they couldn’t escape Morishita’s influence.
What a nice piece of hitting by Shogo Sakakura to bring one more run! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/eCf5hLcmKH— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
Morishita’s one out single in the third inning would start a quick rally, with two walks from Henry loading up the bases with two outs in the inning. Toshiya Sato came up the clutch hit for Samurai Japan, slapping a 3-2 fastball into left field for an RBI single. Morishita scored easily, but Luis Mieses cut down Kotaro Kurebayashi trying to go first to third on the play. This throw beat lead runner Ryoya Kurihara to the plate, allowing the Dominican Republic to maintain a tie. That held for an inning, but when the Dominican Republic turned to Hector Perez, Perez just didn’t have his best stuff. Perez walked the first two hitters of the inning, and Kurihara broke the tie with a base hit to score Keita Sano. Perez never recorded an out, Shogo Sakakura ending his day with an RBI single to score Morishita, and Japan came away with a back-breaking three run inning.
Japan end the Opening Round unbeaten! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/hDReI11vLL— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
The Dominicans weren’t completely out of the game, but they would need Japan to make some mistakes in order to claw their way back in the game. The first of those came in the sixth inning. Kelvin Gutierrez reached on a walk, and after a throwing error by Haruto Inoue he was able to advance to third and then score on a wild pitch. Inoue didn’t let the game get away from him, however, and Japan got the run right back. Once again Morishita started a rally, slashing a base hit with one out, and a single from Yuto Koga pushed the lead back to three runs. Japan wasn’t going to make enough mistakes for the Dominican Republic to have a chance. The DR couldn’t string hits together, and there final hopes of an upset were dashed in the ninth inning. Japan loaded the bases with two outs, then kept on piling runs on the board. A single from Kurebayasha scored two more runs, extended the lead to a likely insurmountable five runs, then Sato’s RBI double really put the nail in the coffin. Ryota Isobata finished the hit parade with another double to score Sato and Kurebayashi, the Japanese lead going from three to eight runs in a flash. Micker Adolfo managed a hit in the ninth inning, but De Leon grounded into a double play to end the game.
CUBA 0 — 2 CHINESE TAIPEI
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEPei-Fong Dai, TPE: 3-4, 2BYusniel Padron, CUB: 2 IP, 0 R, 4 KChun-Wei Wu, TPE: 1 IP, 0 R, 2 K
This Cuban team may have come up just short against Taiwan and Japan over the final two games, but no other team was able to give those two quite the scare Cuba did over the final two days. It was a tremendous show of fortitude after their terrible start to the tournament, though they ultimately fell just short in both games. Yoennis Yera was fantastic the first time through the order, retiring seven of the first eight batters, but a walk to the nine-hole hitter set the first run of the game in place. While Yera got Chih-Cheng Chiu to fly out out of the lead off spot, Kungkuan Giljegiljaw’s double broke the seal on the game to put Taiwan up early. Yera’s fourth inning was his worst, and put enough of a gap on the board for the strong Taiwanese pitching staff to cruise down the stretch. Yera walked the leadoff hitter, then two infield singles loaded the bases with still no outs in the inning. Yera put up an admirable fight, a bit of batted ball luck the difference between runs in the inning, but Taiwan was able to bring home a run on a fielder’s choice. Still, Yera limited damage, retiring the final three hitters in the order.
⚡⚾ Kuan-Wei Chen's nasty pitch#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/ybLZJyPexR— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
It’s not secret though that Taiwan wasn’t exactly putting their best foot forward in the game. With their spot in second place in the group locked in to place they were content with a hangover lineup and running out a bullpen game, and Cuba wasn’t really able to do anything against this pitching staff. No one on Taiwan through more than 25 pitches in the game, and the Cuban lineup had trouble settling in against the steady stream of arm. Taiwan’s pitching staff didn’t allow a walk in the game, while striking out 11 batters. Cuba’s best early scoring chance came from Ariel Martinez in the second inning. Martinez greeted Chih-Hsuan Wang with a long fly ball, banging it off of the top of the wall for a double. Wang had not even a second to settle into the game, yet settle in Wang did. He struck out Erisbel Arruebarruena for the second out of the inning, then got Yoelkis Guibert to pop out into foul territory to end the inning. Wang went 1-2-3 in the third inning, and immediately after Taiwan took the lead.
⚾ Chinese Taipei end the Opening Round on high note!#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/0GCoQr05RG— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 18, 2024
Facing a 2-0 deficit the Cuban side had a fight on their hands, and Arruebarruena was ready to bring it. He doubled with one out in the top of the fifth inning, bringing up Guibert. Guibert nearly tied the game on the 2-1 pitch, lacing one down the first base line, but the ball curled just foul and Guibert struck out on the next pitch. Andrys Perez greeted a new Taiwan pitcher, En-Sih Huang, by smoking the first pitch up the middle for a base hit. Arruebarruena streaked around third base looking to score on the play, sliding in safe according to the call at home plate. However, upon review it was clear. Chiu had made a fantastic throw from center field and Pei-Fong Dai an even better tag at the plate to just beat Arruebarruena and record the third out of the inning. That was the end of things for Cuba. Roel Santos had a single in the sixth inning but never advanced past first base. Taiwan’s bullpen retired the final 11 Cuban hitters in the game, closing out their fourth win of the tournament to go into the super round on a high note.
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