Monday, March 17, 2008

Korea Tops Taiwan, on to Beijing

Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Game 7

Korea 4, Taiwan 3

This game was essentially a formality. Both teams had their spots in the Olympics already secured. The only thing at stake was regional pride.

Before the game started both teams shook hands on the field. It was a lot like the Scots meeting the Irish in Braveheart. There wasn't any animosity like there is for a meeting between Korea and Japan or Taiwan and China. It felt like two neighbors meeting to play a game and that's exactly what happened. It was nice to see sportsmanship during an international contest.

At the plate...

The key to Korea's offense was Taiwan's pourous defense. In the first inning, third baseman Lin Yi-chuan, made two errors that lead to a Korean rally. Lin seemed to be barely aware that a baseball game was ocurring in front of him.

Lee Seung-yeop continued his hot streak, going 2-3 with a double.

On the mound...

19 year old, Kim Kwang-hyun showed a lot of guts. He got off to a rocky start. Taiwan was able to strike for two runs in the first, but Kim was able to settle down and hang on to get the W. He worked into and out of trouble for most of the game. Taiwan was excellent at getting runners on, but unable to plate them. The final line for Kim was 5 innings, 6 K's while allowing 3 runs(all earned) and 5 hits.

No comments: