Korea baseball, looking for fourth straight win, beats Thailand to reach Super Round.
They lost to Taiwan in the group stage and went home with one loss. If Taiwan loses to the middle, the goal-goal variable
South Korean national team coach Ryu Jung-il (R)
Fist bumps with Yoon Dong-hee, who hit a home run against Thailand on Wednesday.
South Korea’s baseball team, led by coach Ryu Jung-il, swept Thailand on Wednesday to advance to the
super round of the World Baseball Classic in second place in their group.
South Korea finished second in Group B with a 0-4 loss to arch-rivals Chinese Taipei a day earlier, but their
hopes of reaching the finals were raised the same day when China, considered a “baseball pariah,” pulled
off the upset by beating Japan, a team of unemployed players.
Ryu Joong-il
Head coach of the South Korean baseball team, looks frustrated as his team struggles in their second
game of their Group B match against Chinese Taipei at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Tuesday. South
Korea fell to a 0-4 defeat, its third straight loss to Chinese Taipei in recent international competition.
South Korea defeated Thailand 17-0 with a five-run fifth inning in the final game of their Group B match at the Hangzhou Asian Games at the Baseball Softball Sports Center in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China on Sunday. Choi Ji-hoon (SSG), Yoon Dong-hee (Lotte) and Kim Joo-won (NC) fired home runs, while center fielder Noh Shi-hwan (Hanwha) went 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and two RBIs. Starting pitcher Na Gyun-an (Lotte) also pitched four innings of four-hit ball, striking out nine.
In the other Group A game
China defeated Japan 1-0 to top the group with a three-game sweep. Liang Fei’s single to left field with the bases loaded in the top of the second inning proved to be the difference maker.
With China’s victory over Japan, South Korea’s first Super Round opponent will be Japan. South Korea will have one day off before taking on Group A runner-up Japan in the first game of the Super Round at 1 p.m. on May 5, followed by Group A winner China in the second game at 1 p.m. on May 6.
The top two teams from each of the four Super Rounds will advance to the finals, and if Korea defeats both Japan and China and Taiwan defeats China, Korea will advance to the finals. If China defeats Taiwan, all three teams – Korea, Taiwan, and China – will be tied with two wins and one loss. In this case, the goal differential between the three teams will be used to determine the two finalists.
South Korea’s players, including Kang Baek-ho
Applaud Thailand’s team after their 17-0 cold open win during the baseball main event Group B match between South Korea and Thailand at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Shaoxing Baseball Sports and Cultural Center near Hangzhou, China, on Oct. 3.
Historically, South Korea has struggled at international tournaments, often getting caught in the crossfire with Taiwan, a team that is often considered a step below them. South Korea lost 1-2 to Chinese Taipei in the qualifiers for the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. In the 2019 Premier 12, they were swept 0-7 despite starting left-handed ace Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG). Leading up to the Asian Games, Korea had lost their last three games, all to Chinese Taipei.
However, assuming South Korea beats both Japan and China, South Korea could have a “return match” with Chinese Taipei in the final if Chinese Taipei takes out China.
As we saw on Day 2, Taiwan is no longer an underdog.
Unlike South Korea’s youth-oriented roster, Chinese Taipei has called up players from both the minor leagues and their home professional leagues, including seven members of the 2019 Busan Kijang World Youth Championship team. Lin Yi-min, a left-handed pitcher who pitched six shutout innings against South Korea on Feb. 2, is an up-and-coming prospect who plays for the Arizona affiliate of Major League Baseball.
If South Korea meets Chinese Taipei again in the final, there’s no guarantee they’ll win. However, South Korea deserves another chance to fight for a fourth straight Asian Games title. 스포츠토토링크