BASEBALL/Taiwan beats Japan to win U-18 Asian Baseball Championship

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) Taiwan defeated Japan 6-1 at Taipei's Tianmu Stadium to clinch its first U-18 Asian Baseball Championship since 2007.

Team Taiwan, competing under the name "Chinese Taipei," managed to come from behind after Japan scored the game's first run with shortstop Yusei Ishizuka's RBI single in the opening frame, giving the visiting team an early 1-0 lead.

The home squad first tied the game with outfielder Ko Ching-hsien's (柯敬賢) RBI triple to the left-center field before taking the 2-1 lead thanks to a sacrifice fly by Tseng Wei-che (曾偉喆) in the top of the third inning.

In the top of the fifth inning, Taiwan widened the gap to 3-1 following another sacrifice fly by Ko, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers this June.

Taiwan added another three runs in the top of the sixth and seventh to give further cushion to the hosts, which lasted until the end of the game.

Sunday's game, interrupted twice due to on-and-off heavy rain, also marks a sweet revenge for Taiwan against Japan. The home team lost to visiting Japan 0-1 on Friday during the U-18 Baseball World Cup Asia Qualifier's Super Round match.

This year is the third time Taiwan has won the tournament, following victories in 2001 and 2007.

Japan, Korea and Taiwan are the three teams dominating the tournament since its inception in 1994, with Japan and Korea both winning five titles and Taiwan three.

Earlier Sunday, Korea crushed the Philippines 8-0 to finish third in the eight-team tournament, which also featured Pakistan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka.

The tournament's top three finishers qualify for the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2025.