BASEBALL/Taiwan loses to S. Korea in U-12 Baseball World Cup third-place game

Tainan, Aug. 3 (CNA) Taiwan took fourth place at the biennial U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan Sunday after losing the third-place game to South Korea.

Taiwan's journey at the 2025 edition of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) championships ended with a 0-2 loss and South Korea winning the bronze medal.

Both Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, and South Korea stood their ground, preventing each other from scoring any runs in the first two innings at the Asia Pacific International Baseball Complex in Tainan.

Taiwan's starter Zhong Ding-xu (鍾定栩) opened the game with a strong start by striking out the first three South Korean batters.

Zhong was on fire after he repeated his feat from the first inning in the top of the second.

South Korea was the first to break the stalemate in the top of the third when infielder Kang Giung made the game's first run to bring the score to 0-1.

Although Taiwan attempted to draw level, the team's efforts fell short and they scored no runs in the bottom of the third, which was followed by yet another inning that saw neither team score.

South Korean catcher Min Donghyeon then scored the game's final and winning run in the top of the fifth on an RBI by outfielder Ha Jeongwoo.

Taiwan's failure to capitalize on its homefield advantage came just a day after beating the South Korean team on Saturday in the super round.

The Saturday game saw Taiwan take a 11-5 win over Korea in an intense game that was extended from six innings to nine after the teams finished the six innings tied.

Although it seemed as though Taiwan was on the verge of victory after breaking the 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth with two runs, South Korea scored two itself in the bottom the same inning.

After scoring seven runs in the top of the ninth and allowing South Korea just one run in the bottom of the inning, Taiwan won the game 11-5.

However, the Saturday game also saw the WBSC penalize Taiwan's manager Chang Tzu-chien (章子健), banning him for one game.

The confederation punished Chang for putting reliver Huang Yu-qian (黃宇謙) on the mound in the bottom of the ninth.

As Huang pitched 53 balls on Thursday, he was not allowed back on the mound as WBSC regulations protect the U-12 athletes by imposing a two-day rest after a pitcher throws between 46 and 60 pitches.

Huang was also unable to pitch during Taiwan's losing game on Sunday.

The Sunday match was the first time Taiwan did not enter the top three of the U-12 world cup since its inception in 2011.

Meanwhile, Sunday was also the first time in history that young South Korean baseball players made it into the top three spots of the world cup.

While South Korea took third place, the United States defended its title for a second consecutive time by defeating Japan in the final on Sunday 7-1.

Taiwan had lost to the three-time winners before in the 2023 final to take second place in the last U-12 Baseball World Cup.

Taiwan also lost to the U.S. in the championship round in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

Taiwan previously won the U12 Baseball World Cup twice, first in the inaugural game in 2011 and then 2019.