BASEBALL/Japan defeats Taiwan in U-12 Asian Baseball Championship final

Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) Defending champion Taiwan suffered a 3-0 shutout loss to Japan in the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) U-12 Asian Baseball Championship final in Hangzhou, China, Saturday.

Despite the loss, Taiwan's second-place finish secured it a berth at the 2027 U-12 Baseball World Cup, which will be held in Taipei.

Competing under the name Chinese Taipei, Taiwan finished second for the second time, having won the tournament in 2018 and 2024.

In Saturday's game, all three of Japan's runs came as a result of errors by Taiwan. Taiwanese batters loaded the bases in the opening inning, but a lack of timely hitting resulted in a shutout loss.

Meanwhile, three Taiwanese players won individual awards: Pan Lei (潘磊) for batting average (.714), pitcher Peng Yu-jui (彭宇睿) for recording two wins, and Chang Yu-chi (張雨齊) for driving in 11 runs.

Japan's Hiroto Ishii was named MVP.

The final standings from third to eighth were South Korea, China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Thailand.