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| Korean starting pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun, left, leaves the mound after allowing multiple hits during a game against Taiwan at the World Baseball and Softball Confederation Premier 12 in Japan, Tuesday. /Yonhap |
South Korea dropped to Chinese Taipei 7-0 for its first loss at the Olympic baseball qualifying tournament on Tuesday, a stunning result that puts a damper on its bid for a spot at next year's Summer Games.
South Korea mustered just five hits, while starter Kim Kwang-hyun lasted just 3 1/3 innings in the Super Round showdown at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba, just east of Tokyo.
Chinese Taipei's right-handed starter, Chang Yi, pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings for the victory.
The Premier12 is also an Olympic qualifying event for Asia/Oceania and the Americas. The final standings after the Super Round will determine who gets to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Mexico, the United States, Australia and Japan are other teams in the Super Round. Only the best teams from each of the two regions will qualify.
South Korea must finish ahead of Chinese Taipei and Australia to book its spot in the Olympics, with Japan already in the Summer Games as the host country.
Results against other Super Round-bound teams in the group stage have been carried over. South Korea is 2-1, after a win over Australia in Group C last week and another against the United States in the Super Round on Monday, followed by Tuesday's loss.
Chinese Taipei, who entered the Super Round with a loss and dropped to Mexico on Monday, improved to 1-2 overall.
Australia is 0-3 after losing its first two Super Round games. South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Australia all have two games remaining before the brackets for the third-place game and the championship final are set.
Chinese Taipei drew first blood on Tuesday in the top of the second. No. 9 hitter Kao Yu-Chieh's double to deep left-center scored Wang Sheng-Wei from first. And Hu Chin-Lung followed up with an RBI single to double Chinese Taipei's lead to 2-0.
This was the first game in which South Korea trailed at any point during the Premier12. South Korea had allowed just two runs in its four previous games prior to Tuesday.
South Korea had at least a runner on in each of the first five innings but failed to cash in. In the first inning, in particular, South Korea had men at second and third, after starter Chang Yi's balk, for the big mashers, Park Byung-ho and Kim Jae-hwan. But Park flied out to shallow center, not deep enough for Kim Ha-seong to score from third, and Kim went down swinging.
Wang Sheng-Wei's single in the fourth made it 3-0 Chinese Taipei and chased Kim Kwang-hyun from the game.
South Korea continued to fritter away scoring chances, and Chen Chun-Hsiu landed a knockout punch for Chinese Taipei in the top seventh with a three-run homer off reliever Won Jong-hyan, which opened up a 6-0 lead.
South Korea barely put up a fight the rest of the way, with Chen Kuan-Yu, who took over from Chang Yi with two outs in the seventh, and Chen Hung-Wen combining for 2 1/3 innings of one-hit relief work.
Lin Hung-Yu's RBI single in the ninth inning put Chinese Taipei up 7-0, adding insult to injury for the losing side.
South Korea will next face Mexico on Friday and Japan on Saturday. Chinese Taipei will play the U.S. on Friday and Australia on Saturday. Australia will take on the U.S. on Wednesday and then have what could be a critical showdown against Chinese Taipei on Saturday. (Yonhap)
