South Korean starter Ko Young-pyo reacts after giving up a grand slam to Chen Chen-Wei of Chinese Taipei during the teams’ Group B game at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 at Taipei Dome in Taipei on Nov. 13, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea fell to Chinese Taipei 6-3 in the crucial first game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 tournament in Taipei on Wednesday, digging itself an early hole in the opening stage.
South Korean starter Ko Young-pyo surrendered a grand slam and a two-run home run in the fateful second inning in front of a sellout crowd of 40,000 at Taipei Dome in the Taiwanese capital, and his teammates at the plate managed only three hits in the loss.
This was the opening Group B game for both countries. South Korea will next face Cuba at 6 p.m. Thursday local time (7 p.m. in South Korea) at Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei.
South Korea will then play Japan on Friday, the Dominican Republic on Saturday and Australia on Monday.
The top two teams after round-robin action will qualify for the Super Round, with the two best teams from Group A also advancing. South Korea will likely have to win out to have a shot at making the final four.
Tokyo will host all Super Round games, including the bronze medal contest and the final on Nov. 24.
This is the third edition of the Premier12, which features the top dozen teams in the WBSC rankings at the end of 2023. South Korea won the inaugural tournament in 2015 and finished as the runner-up to Japan in 2019.
South Korea manager Ryu Joong-il has put together a youthful team, with 18 of the 28 players at 25 or younger, with an eye toward the 2026 World Baseball Classic and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Na Seung-yeup of South Korea (R) rounds the third base after hitting a solo home run against Chinese Taipei during the teams’ Group B game at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 at Taipei Dome in Taipei on Nov. 13, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Chinese Taipei erupted for six runs in the bottom of the second off Ko.
They loaded the bases with two outs thanks to a pair of singles and a walk. Then leadoff man Chen Chen-Wei crushed a first-pitch changeup from Ko for a grand slam, giving his team a 4-0 lead.
The next batter, Lin Li doubled to right on the first pitch he saw. Two pitchers later, Chen Chieh-Hsien blasted a two-run shot for a 6-0 Chinese Taipei lead.
Ko was chased after two innings, with left-hander Choi Ji-min taking over to begin the third inning.
South Korea was no-hit by starter Lin Yu-Min for the first three innings before finally solving the left-hander in the top fourth.
With Hong Chang-ki at second base following a walk and a fielder’s choice groundout, Kim Do-yeong drove him home with a double off the left-field wall for South Korea’s first run.
Kim advanced to third on Yoon Dong-hee’s groundout, and Park Dong-won cashed him in with a single up the middle, making it a 6-2 game.
Three relievers that followed Ko kept South Korea in the game with four shutout innings of one-hit ball, and pinch hitter Na Seung-yeup got South Korea within three runs with a solo home run off Chen Kuan-Wei.
The ball was initially ruled a double, as it hit the top of the right-field wall and bounced back into play, but it turned into a home run after a video review.
It was also South Korea’s last hit of the game, with Chen Kuan-Yu and Wu Chun-Wei slamming the door shut with two perfect innings combined.
Manager Ryu said Ko’s inability to keep left-handed bats at bay cost his team, with both of the home run hitters for Chinese Taipei batting from the left side.
“Ko hung a changeup with two outs and bases loaded, and that went out for the grand slam,” Ryu said. “That was a big blow. It’s really disappointing to lose the first game here.”
Although South Korea was limited to three hits, Ryu insisted his hitters are in good form, and credited his opposing pitchers for throwing an excellent game.
“They have really good pitchers, be it their starter or relievers,” Ryu said. “We’ll have to figure out ways to get to them the next time we see them.”
Ryu said he won’t tinker with his lineup much for the Cuba game, though Na, who hit the pinch-hit homer in the seventh, may draw into the lineup.
Ryu announced right-hander Gwak Been as the starter of the virtual must-win game against Cuba.
Gwak tied for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) lead this season with 15 wins for the Doosan Bears. Among all qualified KBO starters, Gwak also tied for first in average four-seam fastball velocity with 148.4 kilometers per hour.
Cuba will likely counter with left-hander Livan Moinelo, who led the Pacific League in Nippon Professional Baseball with a 1.88 ERA for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks this year.
(Yonhap)
