Twice as nice for Chinese Taipei in Pony World Series
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter Maui’s Roy Meinen tags Chinese Taipei’s Heng-Yu Ho at second base during the Pony League World Series championship game Wednesday at Lew Hays Pony Field.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter Ground crew members remove a tarp from the field after a rain delay Wednesday at Lew Hays Pony Field.
In the process of advancing to the Pony League World Series championship game Wednesday night at Lew Hays Pony Field, Maui, Hawaii, and Chinese Taipei showcased its offensive firepower.
Chinese Taipei, the undefeated defending champions, eased past Los Mochis, Mexico, 9-2, while undefeated Maui destroyed Bay County, in five innings, 19-3. Thirteen of the 19 runs scored by the West Zone champions came in the first two innings.
In the championship game, the start of which was pushed back close to an hour because of lightning in the area, neither team jumped out to a comfortable, early advantage.
Inevitably, though, Chinese Taipei did what it had done all week and built a multi-run cushion against the West Zone champions in a meeting of Pacific Rim squads. A five-run third inning and a five-run sixth propelled the Asian representatives to its second consecutive championsp with a 12-2 six-inning Mercy Rule win.
“Today was not our day,” Dean Yamashita, the Maui manager.
Chinese Taipei scored a combined 35 runs in its four games, allowing four.
Starting pitcher Tzu Wei Lin allowed one hit over three shutout innings, striking out seven and walking two. Teammate Hung-Chieh Chang relieved Lin and gave up two earned runs and four hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out five five to close out the victory.
Limiting the usually volatile Maui hitters was key to Chinese Taipei taking home the trophy.
A two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth by Chen-Hsun Lin grew the lead to nine before an Hao-Che Wang RBI single secured the 10-run advantage and the game.
The first two runs Chinese Taipei scored in the bottom of the third came from one play, when two Maui errors brought Taiwanese runners home.
“We dug ourselves a hole,” Yamashita said. “Against a team like this, when you dig yourselves a hole like that, you’re kind of pressing to come back. It made it harder.”
While Maui managed to end the shutout by scoring a run in the top of the fourth inning on a solo homer by Konnor Palmeira, Chinese Taipei answered in the bottom half of the inning.
Hauoli Caliva also homered for Maui two innings later, but that didn’t stop Chinese Taipei from securing the six-inning victory.
Chinese Taipei manager Shih-Teng Chiu was not available for comment immediately after the game.