Taiwan beats South Korea to win U-12 Asian Baseball Championship

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) Taiwan defeated South Korea at the U-12 Asian Baseball Championship in Japan on Friday, claiming its second consecutive title in the biennial competition.

The victory saw Taiwan defend the title it also won against South Korea in 2018. The event was canceled in 2020 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, Taiwan defeated South Korea 5-1 in a six-inning final held in Matsuyama, the capital of Japan's Ehime Prefecture.

Taiwan took an early lead, scoring three runs with no outs in the top of the first inning, aided by a series of foul balls and wild pitches from South Korean starter Kim Min-wook.

After Kim was replaced by Park Sun-hong, Taiwan added two more runs before Park closed out the inning.

South Korea managed its sole run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Taiwan's starter Huang Li-yuan (黃力垣) was subsequently credited with keeping South Korea at bay.

After a shaky start in the bottom of the first, when South Korea nearly scored a run, Huang found his rhythm, striking out all six batters he faced in the bottom of the second and third.

Friday's win marked Taiwan's second consecutive U-12 Asian Baseball Championship title and the nation's eighth overall since the competition began in 2000.

Taiwan's longest winning streak in the competition lasted between 2002 and 2010, when it took home the gold five consecutive times before losing to China in 2012.

This year, China lost to Japan 10-0 in the semifinals, placing Taiwan, South Korea and Japan in the top three spots at the 2024 games.

The U-12 Asian Baseball Championship is organized every two years by the Asian branch of the World Baseball Softball Confederation.