The Korean National Youth Baseball Team fell to archrivals Japan in the first game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Super Round. The South Korean team, coached by Lee Young-bok (Chungam-go), fell 1-7 to Japan in a Super Round game on Sunday afternoon in Taipei, Taiwan.
Having already used up Kim Taek-yeon in the morning’s suspension game against Puerto Rico, Korea started sophomore ace Bae Chan-seung in the afternoon game.
Making his first start of the tournament against Japan, Bae Chan-seung (Daegu High School) battled back to strike out seven over five innings, but was charged with four runs (two earned) on four hits.
However, he showed off his speed, reaching up to 148 kilometers per hour, making him a top pick for next season.
Daegu High sophomore left-hander Bae Chan-seung, who started against Japan (Photo by Jeon Sang-il)
Meanwhile, South Korea had to fight the odds in a ridiculous schedule. It was unprecedented.
온라인카지노The Korean team had to wait in the rain the day before and then leave. They had to wake up in the morning for a suspended game due to three downpours. In the previous game against Puerto Rico, they resumed the third game with a 5-1 lead and went on to win 8-1. We used up our ace Kim Taek-yeon for that game. You have to win the game you’re going to win.
But the next match was a problem.
There was no time to properly prepare for Japan, no time to work on pitching, no time to regain fitness. Jeon Mir (Gyeongbuk High School), who took over for Bae Chan-seung, was shaken up badly, giving up three runs on three hits and one walk in one inning, and the bats went silent in a 1-7 loss.
Under the Super Round rule, which allows teams to advance from the group stage, Korea’s Super Round record is now 1-2. The tournament will use pool play to determine the finalists and the third- and fourth-place finishers.
South Korea will play the second game of the Super Round on Aug. 8 at 3:30 p.m. against the United States.
