Taiwan defends U-15 Asian Baseball Championship title at 2025 tourney

Tainan, Aug. 23 (CNA) Taiwan successfully defended its title at the 2025 U-15 Asian Baseball Championship, defeating Japan 3-0 in the final in Tainan on Saturday.

The two teams went toe-to-toe for most of the final, scoring no runs in the first five innings.

Taiwan then broke the stalemate in the top of the sixth when centerfielder Chen Rui-xin (陳瑞鑫) and pinch hitter Hu Kuan-wei (胡冠威) scored two runs, on a hit by batter Chen Bo-you (陳泊佑).

With the score at 2-0 in the final inning, second baseman Huang Tzu-chi (黃子齊) secured another run at the top of the seventh from a hit by batter Jiang Jin-cheng (江金澄) putting Taiwan into a 3-0 lead.

Chen Bo-you was later named the MVP after Japan failed to keep pace with Taiwan in the bottom of the seventh.

Another key player for Taiwan was starter Ko Shao-chieh (柯邵捷) who pitched a full game.

Ko had a shaky start to the game, sending Japanese batter Yusei Niwa to first base with a walk.

The young Taiwanese pitcher did not find his footing until he loaded all three bases in the bottom of the first, at which point he prevented Japan from capitalizing with pitches that forced batters Soichiro Okada and Tatsunori Nakashima off the field before striking out Renshin Koyama.

The Taiwanese pitcher then kept up his momentum in the second and third innings with consecutive strikeouts, his best performances in the game.

Speaking with local press on Saturday, Ko attributed his lackluster performance in the bottom of the first to nerves due to it being a title defense and the size of the crowd at the home game.

Over 5,000 spectators attended the game at the Asia-Pacific International Baseball Training Centers, giving the Taiwanese team homefield advantage.

The victory saw Taiwan win its second consecutive title at the U-15 Asian Baseball Championship following a 2023 victory over Japan in the 11th edition of the game in China.

Taiwan has now won a tournament-record eight U-15 Asian championships and reached the final in every edition of the event since it was first held in 2000.

Taiwan and Japan both secured spots in the 2026 U-15 World Baseball Championship scheduled to be held in Italy in 2026.