BASEBALL/Taiwan routs Thailand 18-0 in U18 Asian Baseball Championship

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) Taiwan defeated Thailand 18-0 in four innings Tuesday to secure its first victory in the preliminary round of the BFA U18 Asian Baseball Championship in Taipei.

The win brought Taiwan's record to 1-1 after losing its opener to South Korea 2-0 on Monday.

Taiwan scored 14 runs in the top of the first inning at Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, capitalizing on seven hits, three walks and six errors by Thailand while stealing 10 bases.

Leadoff hitter Hu Chen-jui (胡辰睿) made three plate appearances in the inning as Taiwan sent 19 batters to the plate.

After being held scoreless in the second, Taiwan added two runs in both the third and fourth innings to extend its lead to 18-0.

The game was called after the bottom of the fourth under the tournament's mercy rule, which ends a game when one team leads by at least 15 runs after four innings.

Taiwan pitchers Yang Yao-cheng (楊曜丞) and Wu Chieh-jui (吳杰叡) each worked two innings, combining for a perfect game with nine strikeouts.

Yang struck out five batters over the first two innings before Wu fanned four over the final two frames to earn the win.

Taiwan finished with 11 hits and no errors, while Thailand committed six errors and had no baserunners.

Taiwan will face Singapore in its third preliminary-round game on Wednesday.