TOKYO—Chinese Taipei trounced Czechia 14-0 on Saturday at Tokyo Dome in World Baseball Classic Pool C action for its first victory. After two opening losses, the team surged ahead with two runs in the first inning and four more in the second on Stuart Fairchild's grand slam. South Korea faces Chinese Taipei in a must-win matchup on Sunday.
Chinese Taipei failed to score in its first two Pool C games but exploded offensively against Czechia on Saturday. The team tallied two runs in the top of the first with three hits, including a run-scoring single by Chang Yu. In the second, bases loaded with a single and two walks, and Stuart Fairchild crushed a first-pitch changeup from Jan Novak 389 feet to left-center for a grand slam, making it 6-0.
Chang added two more RBIs with a single in the fourth to extend the lead to 8-0, followed by Chen Chen-Wei's sacrifice fly in the fifth for 9-0. In the sixth, Chang's single drove in the 10th run, and four more followed to reach 14-0. The game ended after seven innings under the mercy rule, which calls games with a 10-run lead after seven or 15 after five. Chinese Taipei had only four singles across its prior two games but notched three hits in the first inning alone Saturday.
This victory came after a 0-13 loss to Japan on Friday, where Japan erupted for 10 runs in the second inning powered by Shohei Ohtani's grand slam and five RBIs. Japan, the defending champion with titles in 2006, 2009, and 2023, next faces South Korea on Saturday evening. South Korea opened with an 11-4 win over Czechia on Thursday. The top two teams in Pool C advance to the quarterfinals, while Czechia was eliminated with three straight losses.
