TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) praised Team Taiwan’s 11-3 victory over Australia at Taipei Dome on Sunday (Nov. 17), leading to a spot in the four-team Super Round in Tokyo, Japan.
Lai expressed his gratitude on Facebook “to every Taiwanese hero of Team Taiwan for playing exciting and wonderful games one after another.” Lai encouraged the team to build momentum and achieve good results in Tokyo.
Taiwan’s previous top Premier12 performance was a fifth-place finish in 2019. However, Taiwan has already bested this result, and another win will put them in the medal round competition, per PTS.
In remarks to the media after the game against Australia, Team Taiwan Manager Tseng Hao-chu (曾豪駒) said he was happy the team qualified for the upcoming Super Round. He was honored to lead the team to Tokyo.
Addressing the challenges the team has overcome, Tseng said, “There were a lot of different opinions when we were choosing the team, but we were able to overcome this." He added, "As the manager, I am honored to lead this team. I am also proud that they are taking me to Tokyo."
The team's win against Australia punched the ticket for the Super Round. Tseng opted for starting pitcher Kuo Chun-lin (郭俊麟), who also pitched in the 2015 Premier12 tournament.
Kuo fared well, going three and two-thirds innings, surrendering one run, with five strikeouts and one walk. Kuo finished with an ERA of 2.45 and exited the game with Taiwan in the lead.
"This time when I joined the team, I was considered one of the oldest members. I just want to show a calm mood and lead these junior teammates to advance to Tokyo," said Kuo.
When Australia changed pitchers in the second inning, Team Taiwan hitting coach Peng Cheng-min (彭政閔) was consulting with hitters Chen Chen-wei (陳晨威) and Lin Li (林立). Lin said international baseball pitchers are difficult to hit against, but data and information about each pitcher gave batters more confidence.
"We did a lot of homework before the tournament. This allowed me to see the ball path and better attack the ball during the game, also giving me more confidence," said Lin.
In a prior match between Team Taiwan and Japan, third baseman Pan Chieh-kai (潘傑楷) made a fielding error, leading to an unearned run for Japan. Pan said he was touched by fans' encouragement after the game.
Pan would repay fans by hitting a double in the first inning against Australia, allowing Taiwan to score its first run and lead the game. He also got another hit later in the game and performed well defensively.
With Taiwan qualifying for the Super Round, the first match against Group A qualifiers is scheduled for Nov. 21 against Venezuela and the US on the following day at the Tokyo Dome.
In addition to earning glory for Team Taiwan, players can earn prize money if they finish in the top three. For winning the Premier12 championship, each player can receive a bonus of NT$7 million (US$215,000), with a runner-up performance receiving NT$5 million (US$154,000), and third place receiving NT$3 million (US$92,400).
