TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan beat South Africa 9-1 in a 2026 World Baseball Classic qualifier at Taipei Dome on Saturday.
After losing to Spain 12-5 on Friday, Team Taiwan kept its WBC hopes afloat through strong pitching and hitting. While Taiwan’s pitchers gave up no walks, South Africa walked nine batters.
Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) kept South Africa scoreless, before suffering a leg cramp before the third inning.
In the third, Taiwan got on the board after Wu Nien-ting (吳念庭) hit an RBI groundout with runners on second and third. Chen Wen-chieh (陳文傑) soon followed up with an RBI single, bringing Yu Chang (張育成) home.
Taiwan padded its lead in the fourth with Chen Chieh-hsien’s (陳傑憲) RBI groundout with the bases loaded. Taiwan gave up one run in the bottom of the fourth.
Sung Cheng-jui (宋晟睿) hit a homer in the sixth, and Lee Tsung-hsien (李宗賢) hit a two-run shot in the ninth inning.
Taiwan exhibited strong batting, notably led by Sung and Wang Po-hsuan (王博玄). Additionally, Lin Tzu-wei (林子偉) got on base five times on four walks and a hit by pitch.
In this round of qualifiers with Taiwan, Spain, Nicaragua, and South Africa, two teams will advance to the tournament in March 2026. A separate round of qualifiers among Germany, Colombia, Brazil, and China will decide what teams make the final two spots in the 20-team tournament, per the MLB.
