Japan beat Chinese Taipei, remain undefeated in Group B

Japan’s starting pitcher Hiroto Saiki pitched a strong five and 2/3 scoreless innings while Sosuke Genda’s solo home run in the fourth helped to set the tone as the defending champions defeated Chinese Taipei, 3-1, on Saturday to remain the only undefeated team in Group B of the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS.

World No. 1 Japan and No. 2 Chinese Taipei entered their third game of Group B undefeated, aiming to become the first time to get 3-0 in the Opening Round. A sold-out crowd of 34,882 packed Taipei Dome as local fans made a dominating presence while an organized group of Japanese fans also made a very notable contribution to the atmosphere even before the first pitch was thrown.

Japan grabbed their chance in the first inning when leadoff hitter Masayuki Kuwahara reached first on an error, before next batter Kaito Kozono walked and Ryosuke Tatsumi reached on a fielder’s choice, and Shota Morishita’s sacrifice fly drove in the first run for Japan of the night.

In Chinese Taipei’s first inning, captain Chieh-Hsien Chen, who was praised by Japan manager Hiroksu Ibata as impressive, produced a two-out single.

Japan’s second run came in the third as Chinese Taipei starter Po-Ching Chen walked the leadoff batter Shogo Sakakura before Tatsumi drove in another run with a double to deep left.

In the fourth inning Japan added another run on the scoreboard with Sosuke Genda sending a long ball to the right bleachers to give Japan a 3-0 lead. The home run also forced Chinese Taipei manager Hao-Jiu Tseng to take his starter out of the game.

Chinese Taipei’s offense was being contained by Saiki with only two hits in the first five innings. In the sixth Chen-Wei Chen was walked after one out before Chieh-Hsien Chen produced the second hit of the night, which ended Saiki’s night with a five and 2/3 inning scoreless effort. With runners on first and second, reliever Shota Suzuki induced Chinese Taipei pinch hitter Giljegiljaw Kungkuan to hit a soft grounder to record the third out, thus ending the best opportunity for Chinese Taipei to score in the game.

Chinese Taipei’s lone run came in the seventh when Pei-Fong Dai, who came into the game in the fifth as a pinch hitter, launched a rocket shot to the deep right bleacher to give Chinese Taipei the first and only run of the game.

“I was a little be nervous in the first inning because I was completely surrounded by the fans from the opposing team, and the cheerleading was extremely loud,” said Saiki after the game. “But after that I was able to settle down and get into my rhythm for the rest of the game.”

“The fact that we scored first helped out a lot for me to get settled down, and the only pity is probably that I did not get to finish the sixth.” Saiki added.

“I’ve already expected this game as a tough game too, but the fact that we scored first helped out quite a lot. And of course Saiki pitched very well,” said Japan manager Ibata after the game. “Even he did not get to finish the sixth, I still give him 100 points on his scorecard.”

Chinese Taipei manager Tseng said it was a pity that his team did not win. “This one is on me.” He then recognized his players “never back off facing such as strong team, and it is a great experience for us all.”

“I’d like to thank my manager for giving me the opportunity (to start). I didn’t pitch as well as I expected, and I’d like to apologize to my manager,” said Chinese Taipei starter Chen.

Chinese Taipei will next face Australia, while Japan will play against Cuba.