Taiwan loses to U.S. 2-3 in Premier12 Super Round

Taipei, Nov. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's national baseball team lost 2-3 to powerhouse the United States Friday in the six-team Super Round of the Premier12 championship in Japan.

The U.S. scored their opening run when Andrew Vaughn hit a single through left field to give Jordan Adell on first base a chance to run home for an early lead against the Taiwanese.

The Taiwanese quickly came back to tie the score 1-1 when Jhang Jin-de (張進德) hit a double play to send a runner home at the top of the third inning.

The Taiwanese had a chance to pull a lead in the fifth, when Wang Sheng-wei (王勝偉) batted deep into the far left field, but was caught on third base.

The team, however, managed to take a 2-1 lead against the U.S. in the sixth inning with a solo homerun from veteran batter Hu Chin-lung (胡金龍), a former infielder for the New York Mets in 2011.

However, Taiwan's score advantage was short-lived, after Brent Rooker hit a homer against Taiwanese starting pitcher Wu Sheng-feng (吳昇峰) to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh, giving the U.S. a 3-2 lead.

The game finished with a U.S. victory after the Taiwanese failed to produce any runs before the end of the ninth.

Taiwan, which is competing under the name Chinese Taipei, now has a 1-3 record in the six-team Super Round of the Premier12. It is also currently at the bottom of the table, alongside Australia.

The countries ranking at the top of the list, in descending order, are Japan (3-1), Mexico (3-1), South Korea (2-1), and the U.S (2-3).

Taiwan will play its final match of the Super Round against Australia Saturday.