Korea U-18 virtually misses out on finals…Japanese ace hits perfect streak…10-0 cold game win

South Korea’s U-18 team is effectively eliminated from the final.

Japan earned a 10-0 five-inning cold-game victory over Puerto Rico in the second game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Super Round at Tien Mu Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan on Monday.

Japan improved to 3-1. Puerto Rico is 1-3.

Japan starter Onna Higashi pitched a five-inning perfect game. She faced 15 batters and didn’t allow a hit, walk or error, striking out five, getting six infield grounders and four fly balls.

Japan put runners on first and second in the bottom of the first inning on a walk and a fielding error. A wild pitch put runners on second and third, and Riku Takeda’s RBI single gave Japan a 2-0 lead.

Japan got on the board in the top of the third when Yuzuki Nakayama singled up the middle, but the runner from first was tagged out trying to advance to third. With two outs, Minato Maruta singled to center field, scoring one run. 3-0.

In the fourth, back-to-back infield singles put runners on first and second, and Ren Ogata’s RBI single scored the fourth run. 4-0 lead.

The fifth inning started with a leadoff single, an error by the left fielder put runners on first and second, and a fielder’s choice on a sacrifice bunt put runners on first and third. A walk loaded the bases, and a wild pitch made it 5-0.

An RBI double and an infield single made it 8-0, and back-to-back singles made it 10-0. They won the cold game in the fifth inning.

The Super Round will be played in a round-robin format with six teams finishing first through third in each group. Each team will play three teams from the other group, keeping their results from the group stage. The first and second place finishers advance to the final, while the third and fourth place finishers play for the bronze medal.

South Korea lost 1-6 to Chinese Taipei in the group stage. They lost to Japan 1-7 in the first game of the Super Round on Sunday. Korea (1-2) needs to beat both the United States and the Netherlands to go 3-2.

As of the 8th, Taiwan has three wins and Japan has three wins and one loss. Taiwan and Japan must both lose their remaining matches to tie at 3-2. However, if three teams have the same number of wins and losses, then Team Quality Balance (TQB) (runs per inning) is used to determine the ranking. 안전놀이터

If South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Japan tie at 3-2, South Korea has the lowest TQB, with 2 runs scored and 13 runs allowed. Even if the Taiwan-Japan game is won by either team in a 10-run cold game, both teams have a higher TBQ than Korea.