BASEBALL/Taiwan routs Australia to reach U-18 Baseball World Cup super round

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) Taiwan advanced to the U-18 Baseball World Cup super round after routing Australia 10-2 in Okinawa on Monday.

The win gave Taiwan its third victory in the group stage, and saw the team join the United States -- which had beaten China 10-0 earlier to go 4-0 -- in clinching two of Group B's super round berths.

Despite scoring 10 runs, Taiwan managed only five hits, while Australia recorded 10.

A key offensive moment came from Li Kai-qi (李楷棋), who hit a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the third. No Taiwanese batter had more than one hit in the game.

Pitcher Wang Yi-shiang (王奕翔) stayed strong, keeping Australia at bay during his four-inning start. Wang, who had pitched one scoreless inning against Team USA in Taiwan's 4-0 loss on Saturday, struck out four in his first start of the tournament, yielding five hits and one walk.

Australia avoided being shut out by scoring its first run in the top of the fifth, after Wang was replaced by Ho Hua (何樺). The team scored both of its runs after Ho took the mound, but only one was earned due to fielding errors.

Taiwan will face Germany at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in its final group game. Germany is tied with Australia at 2-2 after losing 14-0 to Panama on Monday.

In Group A, Japan and Puerto Rico have advanced to the super round with three wins each. Cuba, South Korea, South Africa, and Italy are vying for the final spot.

Teams that fail to advance will play in the placement round for sixth through 12th place. The tournament will conclude on Sunday.